Beauty And The Beast
by MyDyingDaysBlackRose
Summary: Gaara clutched at his hair as the Shukaku attempted to gain control over his body. A beautiful crystal clear voice broke through the air and The Shukaku stilled, whispering a quiet word inside Gaara's head. Amelia? GaaraOC
1. Amelia and The Demon

The ocean tide crashed against the ancient stony wall before drifting back out to sea. The ocean seemed furious at the fact that the wall stood between the once sandy beaches on the other side. It slammed against it with the will to knock it down but to no prevail. I mean sure there were small holes, with maybe enough room for small boats to get through, but it wasn't enough for the ocean. The ocean was one of the hardest things to control and keep at bay…but the wall had stood fast for many…many years, it surrounded the entire island on which it stood, like a forboding sign of danger for anyone that dared come near it.

As part of the furious ocean seeped through one of the small holes in the gigantic wall, it carried a small yet beautiful girl who clung on the brink of unconsciousness to a wooden plank. It pushed her onto a small patch of sand, before rushing out once more, to join in the smashing of the wall.

Slowly she pushed herself to her feet, swaying slightly trying to regain her equilibrium. Her wet black hair clung to her body, and she blinked open her most stunning feature, her eyes. Surrounding the dark pupil was a glittering green color that could put in Emerald to shame, and as the color expanded her eyes turned from green to a blue. She shielded her eyes from the fierce sun and slowly stepped forward. A massive expansive of foliage stretched as far as she could see. Massive waterfalls pummeled the Earth and she took a few more steps forward. A strong gust of wind whipped right through the thin white dress that clung to her skin and she shivered.

She took a deep breath, and started walking into the jungle, hoping to find some kind of life force here. Her bare feet grew sore and tired after hours of searching, for well…anything. She came across a small opening where a crystal blue river snaked it way in between trees. After taking a long drink. She settled with her back against one of the trees and fell asleep quickly.

She blinked open her eyes and using the tree for support, pushed herself back onto her feet. Stretching her sore and tired limbs. With an echoing thump the ground seemed to shake lightly and the small girls eyes narrowed slightly. A few seconds later the ground shook again, a little bit harder then before. This happened again and again, until she had to wrap her arms around a tree to stop herself from falling.

Out of nowhere a gigantic paw the color of sand slammed into the Earth on the opposite side of the river and the shaking stopped. Purple markings coiled up the leg.

A gigantic head lowered to the ground, with its strange golden eyes staring directly at her. The small girl stared at the gigantic raccoon-like creature as he looked at her curiously. Its gigantic tail swishing behind its enormous body. The small girl let go of the tree and took a step back, her foot landing in a small puddle, and a blood-curdling scream escaped her lips.

Before she could register what happened his tail coiled around her body tightly and hoisted her into the air. She screamed as he carried her through the vast forest, knocking down trees, rocks, boulders, anything that stood in its path.

He jumped up onto the side of a rocky ledge, off of which a luscious waterfall plummeted to the Earth. The girl screamed and the creature disappeared into a cave throwing her against the rocky bottom. She grunted in pain as her body skidded along the rocks and stumbled to her feet her multi-colored eyes stared up at the creature. He roared causing the cave to shake and the girl to fall down. He tilted his head to the side and watched as she stood back up.

"Who are you girl?" he roared into the cave and she fell from the ferocity of his voice. She shielded her eyes and stumbled back and fell are her butt, this time she remained on the ground.

"M-my name is Amelia…" Her multi-colored eyes locked with the creatures and with as much confidence as possible she spoke once more. "W-who are you?" The creature growled and whipped around, making the girl tremble with fright.

"Stupid girl…All you need to know is that I am a monster and you will be dead before the next sunrise."

* * *

**Five years later**_  
_

Amelia groaned lightly as the sun shone on her face, she pushed herself up off the floor, and pulled her ankle-length black hair into a tight ponytail, she exited the huge cave and headed towards the water staring at her reflextion. She had made a makeshift piece, using twigs and leaves to cover her chest and using the same material had managed to make a makeshift form of something similar to boys pants except a bit shorter. She used to blush at the fact that her entire stomach showed and at the fact that she was wearing mens clothes, it was very unladylike.

A growl echoed behind her and she whipped around. A bengal tiger stood only a few feet away from her, its teeth bared and its hair bristled. Amelia's eyes darted to the cave, her bow and arrows lay propped against the wall. The tiger stalked forward and her eyes darted back to it. It crouched low and Amelia bolted. She heard the tigers body pound the ground in the spot she stood not a few moments ago as she followed the river, running as fast as her legs could carry. She saw the edge of the cliff come into her view and she could feel the tiger getting closer.

She lept to the side heading for the water when something wrapped around her torso and pulled her swiftly into the air. The tiger screamed and hissed as sand wrapped around him, and made him immobile, sand lifted the furious animal to the Sand Beasts mouth, who in turn ate the animal happily. A smile broke out across her face as his massive tail placed her back on solid ground. She raced up to his front and skidded to a halt as he flopped down on the ground sending a tremor across the land.

"Shukaku!" She shouted excitedly. She scrambled towards him, and spread her arms out wide in between his muzzle in a make-shift hug. He let out a purr and closed his golden eyes. She climbed ontop of his snout and settled in between his eyes, snuggling into his rough skin.

"Stupid girl...always getting into trouble..." Her laughter echoed lightly in the small peaceful clearing, in response to his statement.

All of a sudden a flock of birds shot into the sky, gaining the beautiful girl and the Sand Gods attention. Amelia slid off of his snout and ran over to the edge of the cliff looking down. She stumbled back and nearly fell.

"What is it?" Amelia turned to her friend who had spoken. Her face paler then usual and her eyes slightly wide. "Its people...from my world...from Japan." The beast growled and rose to his feet, fully prepared to annihalate these foreign invaders. "Stay here I will be back." He lept from the cliff, dissapearing in between the rough canopy of trees. Amelia ran back to the cave grabbing her bow and sharpened arrows.

"Amelia? Is that really you?" She whirled around with a bow cocked. Her eyes widened slightly at her father but she did not lower her weapon. "Amelia! Amelia! Oh thank the heavens I found you."

"Don't come any closer! I will kill you father! I have found my freedom, love and happiness all right here! I will not leave!" Her father approached her with his group of men and she let her arrow soar. It killed her fathers counterpart right on the spot and the rest rushed towards her. She took out another and another, but alas there were to many and soon she found her wrists bound and she was roughly thrown over her father's shoulder.

"Let me go!" She screamed her fury as they carried her across the island and down to the small beach that lead through a hole in the wall they threw her roughly into a small rowboat and quickly rowed into the hole. The Shukaku crashing through the trees hot on thier heels. Her gaze turned to the sea and then back, as he lept over the wall and plunged into the sea. His face began to chip away as the sand God began to deterialize in the water.

"Go back! Please! Forget about me! Go now!" The last thing she saw were the golden eyes of her best friend before her world plummeted to a sea of black as something hard made contact with the back of her skull.

* * *

Splinters broke free from the door and embedded themselves into the small pale girls skin, her entire was a black and blue mess from throwing herself at the wooden door. Tears streamed from her beautiful blue eyes as she let out a cry of pain and scampered to the other side of the room, she inhaled a shakey breath and charged at the door as fast as she could. It splintered and she fell on her hands and knees, some of the pieces of flying wood scraping her body in random spots

She scrambled back up to her feet coating her bleeding and bruised body in a thin layer of sand. She took off running through the darkening streets of her noble town. Her dirty silk white dress clinging to her legs. Woman shook there heads as she passed them, it didn't seem to phase her, if anything they made her move faster then she already was.

She past the village boundries and kept running across the sand dunes, and out into the never-ending sea of sand. She lost her footing and tumbled down a small hill. She pushed herself onto her knees and then her feet, willing herself to keep moving despite her bodies screaming protests. The village men came into view with there torches and pitchforks raised high, and she picked up her speed.

She shoved in between them, weaving and twisting her body to manuevere herself in between the furious sweaty bodies. Several of them cussed or yelled at her as she finally gave up and began pushing and shoving people to the side. One of them tried to grab her but she ripped free of his hold and stumbled to one side but her determination was to strong. She caught herself on sturdy legs and pushed through the front of the crowd stumbling forward.

She caught herself and rushed towards the towering massive beast who had a wild predatory look in his eyes. His strange sand-colored with purple markings skin bristling silently, his golden eyes were narrowed and he glared at the townspeople. The girl skidded and stopped directly in front of him, she spread her arms as far out as they could go as if a method of protecting him. Her eyes narrowed in determination even though tears still fell from them.

"Stop! Please! No!" Her voice was strong and loud.

"Daughter if you don't get away from him you will leave me no choice but to kill you too!" The men cheered behind him, but Amelia stood strong.

"His absence has already ripped through my heart! Like thread through a needle everything I do is stitched with his color!" Her father's eyes narrowed at her words and he raised his torch.

"I will not ask you again daughter move away from that...that...abomination!"

Now it was Amelia's turn to narrow her eyes, a fire burned within them and deep hatred for the man that she once called father bubbled in her veins. She let her hands lay limp to her sides, and she snarled.

"If you are to kill me father then fine... but I give you my back...thats all that you deserve." She twirled on her heel and no sooner had she done so, then several spears were thrown into her back. Her eyes widened and sand stirred restlessly around her picking her up and bringing her so she was face to face with the Sand God. Her eyes were wide and blood trailed down her chin.

"N-never forget what l-love is m-my friend...a-always remember what I have g-given y-you." She took a deep breath and smiled painfully. " I will always be w-with you...in your h-heart...I...love...you..."

Her body fell face down in his sand, going limp. The light left her beautiful eyes, her breathing stopped, her heart stopped and she lay perfectly still like a sleeping angel. The sand shifted with a growing ferocity, and the Shukaku letting out a roar so furious that the ground shook, as he made a silent promise to paint the ground a beautiful crimson red, with all the retches who harmed the one he lost.


	2. The Demon's Joy

WritersLove-Sure thing here you go!

alyssalvm-Gaara wasn't in the first one...but thanks!

darkness engulfs me- I actually got the idea watching King Kong...lol I thought it might be cool to have a girl tame the Shukaku...kinda like the one he couldn't kill...if that makes sense.

Nothing but charred remains and slowly decaying corpses remained of the once noble village…well as noble as you could get. The town had basically been created and had been run by rogue, exiled, and traitor ninja…as you can imagine the town had festered with crime daily. A day did not pass without a crime; however the town managed to stay together because as soon as one store had been robbed, the "victim" would be robbing someone else. This maintained a harsh but steady life style.

Until they were born. The three children that would be dubbed as The Forgotten. A fitting name for them.

The first was a boy, his name Hikomi. He was born in January, had short spiked brown hair and auburn eyes. He always took everything seriously and never took anything for granted, his weapon of choice was a whip, he had several, and many were barbed. He took on the nickname of Spike.

The second was also a boy, Riku born in July. With light brown, almost red hair and emerald green eyes, he became an instant ladies man. His personality was always slightly more on the cocky side. His weapon of choice, daggers. Didn't matter what shape or size. He could hit his mark with unfaltering perfection. He took on the nickname Ace.

The third was by far the most interesting…and the only survivor of the town that had been wiped out by a raging fire that had consumed it in a matter of minutes. She was a female and her name was Amelia. It was rare to see anything but a smile adorning her face, and usually the only sound to escape her lips was a laugh, yet she was wise beyond her years, and absolutely deadly with an arrow. It was only when they fought would her happiness disappear and her full attention focused on the battle, but because of her size and personality outside of a fight her nickname became The Joker.

The three were the best of friends and had refused to take part in the constant fighting of the town. As they grew older both males became infatuated with the female, her sense of happiness seemed to be a light in the cold, dark dismal town. There love for the girl only grew as time continued and when the fire struck, they had given their lives to protect her.

Now she sat on a small partially burned tree crouched low clad in nothing but a silky white dress. Her green and blue eyes scanning the wreckage for any signs of survival, but found none. She grinned at the gigantic pile of ashes. The two boys were going to make her choose between them, but she had liked neither in that way. Her heart had only ever belonged to one. A demon of great and terrible power. She leapt from the branch and took off running leaving small footprints in the black ashes which were quickly swept away in the wind.

* * *

Naruto continued talking, bouncing up and down excitedly his blue eyes dancing with happiness, as he turned to face his red-haired best friend beside him. The pupiless sea foam green eyes stared blankly ahead revealing nothing, but his lips had pulled upwards in the smallest of smiles and a light chuckle escaped his lips. This only seemed to give the blonde more energy. The fog was thick in the early morning of Konoha and you could see maybe ten feet in front of you.

Gaara's hands suddenly shot up to his head and the mighty Kazekage dropped to his knees, his fingers diving between his untamed locks and his nails biting into his scalp. The Shukaku roared, growled and snarled from inside him, venting its anger of being caged.

Naruto rushed to his friend's side and gently rubbed his shoulders in a comforting motion, but this time it seemed as though the blonde's efforts were in vain as the sand began to stir around them. Naruto glared at it…silently telling the element he would not leave his friend, if anything, it made it stir more. A soft voice broke through the tense atmosphere.

"Now he's gone, I don't know why

And till this day sometimes I cry

He didn't even say goodbye

He didn't take the time to lie."

The soft voice stilled the sand completely, it froze wherever it had been, some pieces were floating and others lay silent on the ground. Gaara stopped shaking and dropped his arms to his sides as the voice seemed to have some kind of control over the tiny grains. All of a sudden his gourd changed into the tiny pieces and to the astonishment of both demon holders took the form of a small, stunned Shukaku. His golden eyes were wide; his ears went bent forward trying to catch every syllable of the song as his nose sniffed the air as quietly as possible.

A figure began to take form in the fog, it was obviously female, and wearing a knee length dress of some kind, as she broke through the fog and Naruto's jaw hit the floor as the breath-taking beauty. She wore a white nightdress made of silk. Her long black slightly wavy hair was pulled into a ponytail and thrown over her right shoulder it contrasted with her ivory colored skin. Her eyes were green with swirls of beautiful blue. A bow with an array of arrows was attached to her back and as her gaze landed on the sand spirit a smile crossed her face and she extended her hand out as far as it would reach, her voice still ghosting over the small street.

"Bang bang, he shot me down

Bang bang I hit the ground

Bang Bang that awful sound

Bang Bang my baby shot me down."

The Shukaku became an oversized dog. He nuzzled his face into her hand and licked her cheek, not being able to contain his excitement sand seeped from the ground and filtered the air dancing, swirling and twirling around her in some unwritten dance. The Shukaku circled her again and again, prancing like a love-sick idiot, his purr grew to a content growl as his multi-colored tail wrapped around her waist and brought her to his body. Her laughter filled the air as he pulled her down and curled around her body placing his head in her lap.

"Shukaku…what happened to you?" Her fingers ran over his head and stroked behind his ears. He seemed unable to respond, yet he seemed to be pulled back to the present and his golden eyes snapped open, he lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Stupid girl, I suppose you wish to live with me again?" The feared demon watched as she tried and failed horribly to hold back a smile. She managed to cover her mouth before she laughed. He uncoiled himself from her and stalked towards the two males.

"If you let the girl come back to Suna with us, I will allow you to sleep." The shukaku locked gazes with his host, who agreed after a few minutes of silence. The shukaku disappeared and the girl stood up and walked over to the two males and bowed lightly and smiled a small smile.

"My names Naruto Uzumaki! Konoha's number one hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja and future Hokage!" He seemed proud of his title and the girl smiled and held out her hand.

"My name is Amelia. The Joker of a destroyed town and the Stupid Girl of Shukaku." She laughed lightly with the blonde until the red head spoke.

"How do you know the Shukaku?" The question was simple, but a shiver raced down her spine at the roughness of the voice. She turned her attention to him and help back a gasp at the beautiful flawless boy. Luckily she gathered her wits quickly.

"Now that…is a long story."


	3. Talk of The Past

InTheDarknessOfTheNight- Thank you Thank you Thank you and here you go!

darkness engulfs me-I'm brainstorming a few ideas but I am liking the idea of a jealous demon...however that won't be until much later I mean they have to get to know each other and all that good stuff...lol

animestar001- Ahh yes but we all secretly love Jiraiya...lol I'm just kidding. I actually got the ideas from this story off of King Kong, and alot of the inspiration came from that, but obviously I couldn't kill off Shukaku so I had to kill her. Thus came the reincarnation and all of that jazz. I wanted to make her really beautiful, not only to capture the Shukakus eyes but also Gaaras (and plus this way Shukaku can egg him on from the inside! Hehe)

* * *

Amelia's multi-colored eyes darted over to her red headed companion. His features were stunning and sharp, but his eyes and there glorious black rings stood out the most. They walked in a semi-comfortable silence with Amelia sneaking glances at the boy every few minutes.

"Do you always stare at people when you think they aren't paying attention?" Amelia stopped her eyes going slightly wide and her jaw dropping slightly, after a minute laughter escaped her mouth and she jogged and caught up with the red head attempting and failing to stifle her laughter.

"The Shukaku used to ask me that…oh forgive my incompetence I completely forgot to explain. A few hundred years ago, I was born the daughter of a wealthy leader. On my sixteenth birthday he sent me on a luxurious cruise, his hope was for me to fall for its captain who happened to be a wealthy trader, but unfortunately while I was asleep the ship crashed against the rocks, everyone drowned except for me. I drifted on a piece of wood onto this small discrete island. It was there that I met the Shukaku."

Gaara's eyes flickered to her once she stopped speaking, he could see the tears building up in her eyes, and she inhaled a shaky breath trying to choke back her tears before she continued.

"He was my first friend…granted he was a lot different back then. He acted all tough and proud but he was actually one big teddy bear… in a sense I guess you could say I loved him." Gaara held back a snort. The Shukaku? A teddy bear? Impossible, but it made him curious all the same.

"So what happened?" His rough voice made the girl glance at him lightly, before her eyes flickered to the Earth.

"Humans found the island and captured me, bringing me back to civilization. I hated it. I wanted nothing more then return to Shukaku. I was tired of false smiles and fake promises. I missed my freedom. Then I discovered he had followed the boat despite his weakness against the water and the men were leaving to kill him. I tore through the wooden room they had locked me in and ran through the crowd of angry men and stood beside him, I defended him." She paused and let her words sink in.

"So they killed me. But before I died I could feel The Shukaku's anger and I heard his vow to forever hate humans." The band of two lapsed into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

As the forest disappeared and they stepped onto the sand, the deadly element rose straight off the ground and twirled around her in long strands causing her to laugh, and Gaara to stare at her curiously. He couldn't help it, everyone else took off running at the slightest stirring of sand but Amelia seemed amused by it…Gaara couldn't understand it.

Her attention turned back to the red head a blush beginning to creep onto her face. She scratched the back of her head sheepishly and smiled slightly.

"I'm uhh sorry I just can't help myself sometimes." Secretly Gaara wished to learn more about her. Not many can say they have seen the Shukaku and lived to tell about it, and yet this girl seemed to go as far as befriending the fiersome creature.

"Is that it? Wow…that's…magnificent." She trailed off as her eyes landed on the city of Sunagakure. Two guards were posted at the front gate and others were scattered along its walls in random places, her eyes were wide, she had never seen anything like this before. I mean she saw bits and pieces of Konoha but it was too foggy to see much.

"Welcome back Kazekage-sama. I need to see your pass Miss." The guard stated politely but Gaara quickly grabbed her arm nodding to the guards.

"She's with me." They nodded and moved as the red head practically dragged the stunned girl through the gates and into the city. She pulled free from his grasp and walked in front of him successfully stopping him. He narrowed his eyes and irritation, but she smiled up at him her eyes glittering lightly and her fingers gripped his shoulders.

Gaaras eyes widened at the warmth, he had virtually never been touched before, the sand had always protected him…but then again she was in good with the Shukaku…

"You…you're the leader of this town?" Gaara just stared at her blankly as her eyes sparkled lightly. Gaara slowly nodded his head and her smile grew even more.

"How can you not be so…excited this place is beautiful!" Now it was Gaara's turn to be amused and a smirk crossed his face. He brushed past her and headed down the street his voice calling back to her.

"Just because I don't show it doesn't mean I'm not proud."

Amelia's jaw dropped slightly. Did he just open up to her? Amelia shook her head and caught up to the red headed sand God, a smile never leaving her face.


	4. When The Clock Strikes Midnight

darkness engulfs me- Gaara's not all that conceited...unless its fighting...lol but im glad you like this new idea... I'm still debating where exactly I want this story to go...so its still a work in progress!

AnimeStar001- I know this ones short don't kill me! My internet connection keeps fading in and out here and I just wanted to get another chapter up...but to try to make it up to you, you get to learn more about Shukaku and Amelia in this one...I will try to make the next one longer but I am having lots of trouble with my internet here...sorry sorry sorry!

* * *

For once as the old clock struck midnight Gaara was no where to be seen, yet in his place a small girl stood, her multi-colored eyes scanning over the proud village of sand as though she were expecting something to happen.

Any other person would have run away screaming bloody murder as the sand swirled intricately onto the rooftop and slowly seemed to crawl forward, bending and molding into strange shapes, but Amelia was well Amelia and she simply watched it, as if it were an everyday occurrence.

It lifted and in a few seconds flat had become the same small version of the Shukaku. Amelia smiled and held out a hand. He placed his cheek in the palm of her hand, and her fingers scratched his face, causing the mighty demon to purr in satisfaction.

"I am surprised you showed that much affection in front of you host." The demon scowled and walked around her, lying down with a soft thump. His tail coiled around her waist pulling her down with him. His head rubbed against her cheek.

"I missed you…" Amelia mumbled as she wrapped her arms around his neck curling into his warm body. The demons tail draped over her body, creating a makeshift blanket.

"That's because you love me…I don't know why" He paused as Amelia curled up against him, snuggling into his fur. "Stupid girl." Her laughter reached his ears as he placed his head next to hers. She smiled and stroked his ears and he closed his eyes.

"Will I see you again?" She spoke below a whisper and even his ears barely caught it.

"Not for awhile…it takes a lot to be here now…but stay with the boy…I can see everything he sees and I can hear everything he hears…if you can get him as a life mate." Amelia jumped up her mouth opening as a smile dominated her face.

"A life mate? You're kidding right?" The demon grinned at her expression but never lifted his head.

"The boy already likes you I can tell and with me coaching him from the inside…you'll be good for him." A mischievous grin crossed Amelia's face and she smirked at the demon.

"Are you actually helping someone besides yourself?" It was Shukaku's turn to sit up swiftly and he scoffed.

"Stupid girl your mine but since I reside inside the boy you have to be his too."

"Ahhh…I see." She smiled through her silent laughter and the Shukaku put his head back down.

"Shut up and sleep stupid girl." Amelia lightly laughed but did as she was told.

Amelia groaned and blinked open her eyes, shielding him from the ferocious sun, she groaned and sat up stretching her sore and tense muscles. A small pile of sand sat perfectly beside her and she smiled shaking her head as she pushed herself to her feet. She jumped back into the house and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen, searching for something to eat.

She found some pancake mix and began making her favorite breakfast food. She finished and sat down in one of the chairs to begin eating, just as the Kazekage walked in fully clothed. She smiled and held out the stack of pancakes.

"Want one?" He starred at it as though it were alive and trying to eat him. He blinked once,

"What is it?" Her jaw dropped and she nearly dropped the plate she was holding. His expressionless expression took on a hint of amusement at her reaction. She stabbed the innocent pancake with a fork and placed it on a bare plate handing it to him still smiling she trotted back around the table and sat down beginning to eat her food.

Gaara seemed to have an internal battle before he sighed and lightly growled before beginning to eat the fluffy breakfast; he quickly finished the first off and began eating another one. Amelia smiled brightly, adding a little bit more syrup to hers; she held it out to Gaara who glanced at it briefly before taking it and added the sticky liquid to his pancakes.

As soon as he finished he grabbed his gourd and paused in the kitchen doorway.

"Maybe you will be useful, at least you can cook…my sister can't…" He mumbled the last part under his breath and left the house, and Amelia covered her mouth before her laughter could echo throughout the empty house.


	5. The Siblings Shock

darkness engulfs me- I put Kankuro in this one just for you...unfortunatley there is no cooking but there is much humor...GO HUMOR! cough cough anyway you think I should watch out for gaara coming to get me? You just called him Gaara of the funk and made the traditional club noise...AND you embarrassed Sasuke...good luck my dear friend!

AnimeStar001- Hahaha! Thats so true! I used that again in this chapter! Stupid girl! That should be the catchphrase for this story! I am doing my best with internet connections...and I am curious did you like the new story I put out a couple of days ago called Nine Crimes?

* * *

"I don't know what you see in Shikamaru…he's a lazy bum who never does anything but watch the stupid clouds." That earned Kankuro a shift smack to the head by Temari, who growled lowly at him, effectively shutting him up. He yelped and rubbed the back of his head.

"Save for the training arena would ya?" He grumbled under his breath slightly glaring at Temari who suddenly stopped, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening. "What's up with you Tema-" He silenced himself at the scene before him, feeling his jaw hit the floor in total and complete disbelief.

A beautiful girl with knee length black hair and green and blue eyes was running at full force straight toward his youngest brother, a smile was on her face and her eyes twinkled in the morning sun. At the last second she darted to his left, and began circling him still at that same fast pace. Her hair whipped around him creating a dark ring, but it never touched him. She never touched him.

But what shocked the two older siblings, was that Gaara did nothing, he didn't stop her, he didn't harm her, and he simply stood there with his arms folded in front of his chest with slight amusement in his eyes. She slowly began to slow down, her long strands of hair catching up with her and she stopped directly in front of Gaara and stood there. Nobody moved. Gaara stared her down and she stared right back. His face impassive and her face alit with happiness.

Slowly a small almost unseen smile crossed the Kazekage face, and the strange girl stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his shoulder, Gaara tensed but allowed her to hug him.

Kankuro fainted and Temari dropped her fan which landed on the Puppeteer causing him to wake up.

"What the hell…Temari I had the weirdest dream…" He trailed off removing her fan from his torso and Temari just shook her head no, completely oblivious to her weapon of choice.

"It wasn't a dream." Kankuro propped himself up on his elbows only to see the girl, wrapping her fingers around his wrists. The sand didn't even stir it remained motionless at there feet. She picked his tense arms up and placed them on her lower back and for the first time one of them spoke.

"What are you doing girl?" His voice was impassive but he enjoyed the warmth her body gave him, he had never been so close to a human before, and it made him feel…happy? She laughed, he found himself fighting the urge to smile and he mentally frowned. What was she doing to him?

"It's called a hug." She smiled up at him, and released her hold on him, but he merely tightened his, slowly beginning to relax. His action shocked the girl and her mouth visibly dropped as a small gasp escaped her lips as her body was fully pressed against him.

"No…I like you here." Amelia smiled briefly and wrapped her arms back around his waist and squeezed him lightly. Her nose brushing against his neck, making an almost invisible shiver race down his spine.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Time the hell out! Fucking freeze! And rewind!" Amelia jumped and almost fell at the hysterical male voice. "What the hell is going on?! Temari check the skies for meteors! The apocalypse is coming!" Temari swiftly bashed the boy over the head with her fan knocking him out for the second time. She strapped the fan onto her back and glared at the girl.

"Who are you?" The blonde folded her arms across her chest, looking at the small girl who was still recovering from shock, but quickly snapped out of it and regained herself. She bowed slightly her dark hair falling over one of her shoulders.

"My name is Amelia." She spoke politely and the wind master nodded but frowned, and turned her attention to her youngest brother, the sister instincts kicking in.

"When and where did you meet her?" Temari demanded as Kankuro slowly groaned and sat up rubbing his head. Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously, and a low warning monotone growl ripped from his throat. Temari quickly realized what she had done and put her hands up in silent surrender.

"That's none of your concern…" The low emotionless voice rung through the small arena and Kankuro stood up brushing off his pants and looking in between his two siblings, his youngest siblings gaze left Temari and traveled to Amelia…his gaze softened the most minimal amount. His voice softened as he spoke. "She knows the Shukaku."

"S-she wha…" Kankuro regained himself first and managed to squeak out the two single words. Amelia rested her weight on the balls of her feet and sighed.

"Gaara-sama if you don't mind, I think it would be easier just to show them." She looked to Gaara who held and kept her gaze before he slowly nodded. Amelia smiled a smile that made her eyes sparkle and she bounded to the other side of the arena. Gaara removed his gourd and walked over to his siblings.

Amelia crouched down like a dog and kept her eyes on the gourd, her muscles tense, ready and waiting. The gourd busted apart and within a few seconds time took the shape and form of a horse-sized Shukaku. He shook out his coat, when his eyes landed on Amelia. He grinned showing his razor sharp teeth.

"Awwww! There's my stupid girl!" He trotted towards her and she lunged at him, tackling him to the desert floor. She bounced to her feet and circled him much like she had done to Gaara; she didn't even get a lap in before he reached out with his front paw and pulled her into his chest. Amelia laughed momentarily forgetting where she was and wrapped her arms around his neck and yelping when he lifted her off the ground and onto his back, trotting and parading around like he had won a gold medal.

Amelia laughed and dug her fingers into his sandy fur. Temari and Kankuro were dumbfounded and stunned. The Shukaku was acting like a…like…a…playful carefree dog? Amelia slid off of his back and caressed his cheek.

"I will miss you…my friend." With that the sand returned to the shape of the gourd, leaving no sign of the demon. Amelia turned to face them but now her expression held a soft sorrow to it. Kankuro spoke up once more.

"I just have five questions…how? What? When? Where? And Why?"


	6. The Deal

cats-rock-and-so-does-cheese-Hahaha! Thank you thank you thank you! My inspiration came from the movie King Kong, and I thought it might be fun to do something similar except Shukaku...so thank you again and enjoy!

Animestar001- Thank you thank you thank you! I put Shukaku in this one too, and I hope I kept his personality OK hes really difficult for me, but I have to put him in because he a big part of the story please tell me what you think of his character and let me know if hes too soft or too OOc please...thank you again and enjoy

darkness engulfs me- Stares at your review and faints. Wow before I even start responding to that I have to say thats like a novel not a review and I love it! Theres a bunch of people in this one too, including Shukaku...ugh he is sooooo flippin hard to keep in character!! Anyway...Temari is in this one agian just for you and as for Kankuro...theres a small treat towards the end thats like a omen of good...you have to tell me what you think. Starts squealing at the chibis but then screams and covers eyes running into the wall and going unconscious when Kuwabara walks in, and finally i must say that I LOVED this review and this by far the longest reply to a review I have ever typed XD! You need to update your stories sometime soon or I am going to explode! Kacey

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"Many many many years ago. Shukaku became my best friend. On a deserted island off the eastern coast and because I gave him company and didn't run away screaming." She smiled confidently after counting off his questions on her fingers. Kankuro just shook his head.

"Unbelievable." Was the only word that escaped his lips and Amelia laughed lightly, covering her mouth to stifle the sound as they started walking towards her.

"So you can control the Shukaku?" Amelia spun to her left and an older man began walking towards her. He instantly gave her a chill and she shuddered, but narrowed her eyes at him, tensing slightly. He stopped seeing her move to defensive and held up his arms but she snapped at him before he got the chance to speak.

"I control nothing the Shukaku is friend." She growled having no patience for the man in front of her. He raised his eyebrow at the statement and laughed.

"The Shukaku…you…friends? Don't make me laugh." He laughed as if to prove his throat and Amelia growled.

"Your just like everyone else…you judge him by his outer appearance…you don't take the chance to get to know him…you just assume he's evil…and I can tell you did the same to Gaara." Her voice was cool calm and collected and the elder narrowed his eyes at her, anger flashing in his dark orbs.

"You insolent brat how dare you defend such an abomination such as that blood thirsty demon! You know nothing!" He shouted at the small girl, unfortunately this caused a chain reaction. Not only did he piss off Amelia, but he pissed off Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and of course the sand spirit itself and since they were still in Amelia's presence he was able to take form and stand beside Amelia.

"No Shukaku he's not worth it. He's too stupid and blind to see beyond the surface even now he backs up with his tail between his legs like a frightened puppy…if I were you…" She redirected her attention to the elder. "I would learn to watch your tongue…or one day you might just be without it." The Shukaku grinned at the cold malice that escaped into her voice and coiled his tail around her waist.

"Ryu…stop troubling our talented guest." The one who was now backing up in fear turned to face a different elder and scoffed but walked to his side. The other one bowed and smiled. "Forgive him my lady…he has some anger issues…we mean you no harm or disrespect but, if I may, ask a favor of you Miss?" The group watched amused as she looked to the sand spirit for reassurance. He nodded his head and plopped down into the sand, resting his head on his front legs and pulling Amelia to lean against his front shoulder.

"May I request that you stay here in Suna…if it's alright with the Kazekage, preferably to stay at your mansion…I mean this with utmost respect when I say the villagers might begin to trust you better if you have someone that can soothe Shukaku's spirit. I do believe they would feel more safe and carefree around you." Shukaku snorted and Amelia laughed looping her arms around his neck and leaning on him, resting her head by his ears.

"I think you should listen to him." Kankuro, gaara, Amelia, and Shukaku turned to Temari who held a serious expression on her face. "If the people know that they don't have to worry about you Shukaku…they can focus more on the good things you do as a leader, it could make it easier to earn there respect." Her gaze flickered to Gaara who was pinching the bridge of his nose in thought.

Apparently Shukaku felt that he wasn't getting enough attention so in one quick movement he hoisted Amelia onto his back and stood up.

"What the hell…c'mon kid just accept it!" The shukaku whined and shook out his coat. Amelia clung to his fur and laughed as sand flew in every which direction.

"Alright, but on one condition." Gaara's emotionless voice rung through the air and the elder smiled knowing Gaara would accept the agreement. "Ryu is fired." The Shukaku bulked up and let out a barking laugh.

"Ha! I knew I liked you for some reason kid!" Gaara's gaze flitted to the demon who was smirking. The elder seemed a bit ruffled by his response and he looked over at the red faced man, turned back and shrugged.

"Eh…he wasn't very useful anyway…" He mumbled under his breath before looking at the group once more. "Alright we accept the terms do we have an accord?" Gaara nodded and Ryu fumed and began screaming at his counterpart. Amelia leaned forward and whispered something into the demons ear. None of the three siblings liked the grin that spread across the Shukaku's face as he and Amelia disappeared in a whirl of sand and reappeared a few minutes later, this went unnoticed by the two elders. She slid off Shukaku's back and walked up to Temari.

"You're an elite Jonin and your word is trustworthy right?" Temari narrowed her eyes slightly at the dark haired girl but she nodded. Amelia handed her a piece of paper with Ryu's address on it. "Well I heard some rumors that this house had some weird noises coming from it, and I thought you might like to check it out. She looked slightly confused as the Shukaku chuckled darkly. Realization dawned over Kankuro's face and a grin broke across his lips.

"You didn't…" He grinned at the small girl beginning to like her. She folded her arms behind her back and put her weight on the balls of her feet looking away innocently.

"Do what?"

"You planted something in his house didn't you?' A wicked grin crossed her face and she chuckled darkly leaning back against the sand spirit.

"No one messes with my friends." Temari grinned and squealed grabbing the small girl in a huge hug and squeezing the air out of her. She turned to Gaara and bowed.

"Kazekage-sama may I take this mission and go investigate this rumor to make sure its not real?" Even Gaara was smirking as he crossed his arms over his chest and nodded.

"But first you need to inform the client…you may even want to take him with you, so he can give a statement." Temari grinned and bounded towards them dragging the bastard away and towards his home. Shukaku ruffled Amelia's hair.

"See you later stupid girl." She laughed and waved as he disappeared into a cloud of sand and returned to Gaara's gourd. Kankuro smiled.

"I like her…I approve." Kankuro walked away with his head in the air and smiling, and running right into a female, knocking them both over. He landed on top of her with there noses touching and both blushed. Amelia shook her head and trotted towards Gaara who was silently waiting for her. He turned on his heel heading back towards his house.

And Amelia caught up with him and matched his stride perfectly. They were like yin and yang. One was cold, emotionless, and distant. While the other was full of life, and happiness. Yet despite this, Gaara smiled just a small almost invisible smile, because for the first time, he had found a friend.


	7. The Resemblance

AnimeStar001- I know my stories aren't as long as alot of peoples, but I have so many stories and I like to update at least one a day. I try to make sure every chapter is at least one thousand one hundred words, that my minimal amount, anyway thank you for the input on the Shukaku...he's not in this one much, but without further ado...please enjoy!

darkness engulfs me- If you want to know a secret I happen to love the raccoon in alove/hate kinda way and so that was the inspiration for this story. To show you that the Shukaku can be trusted but still mantain his same personality. The mysterious girl that Kankuro pumped into makes another appearence in this one! (Le gasp) Has Kankuro finally found a girlfriend? I think this one is gaining on the second longest review response I've ever written and I love it again! I think the only one that has ever beaten these was one where a friend of mine asked me to summarize Hiei's past and I got carried away..hehe...

Akizu Miko- Yay! Finally! (Dances)

cats-rock-and-so-does-cheese- (Holds Ryu's arms behind him as he struggles to get free) Go for the titanium bat those hurt more! I'll hold him down!

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Amelia yawned and stretched her sore limbs, placing her elbow on the kitchen table and placing her head in her palm. Her other hand boredly drummed the table, making a mantra of fingernail tapping that echoed off the walls. She heard the front door opened and jumped to her feet, totting into the living room, and looping her arms around the red head, and pulling him to her. Instinctively his arm coiled around her waist.

This had become routine. She would greet him as soon as he got home, he felt happier when she was around. She had become a permanent warm presence in the back of his mind. He looked forward to seeing her when he got home, even though he didn't say much and most of the time they sat in a comfortable silence; she made living the day just a little bit easier.

"Temari left a kimono in my room this morning, what am I supposed to do with it?" The look of horror followed by the deep groan that escaped Gaara's lips told her it wasn't left there on accident.

Gaara had forgotten all about the festival. The festival was supposed to be celebrating the rain season, which was coming up quickly. It was an annual festival that obviously brought much joy and happiness because of the fact that Suna didn't get much rain. Amelia gazed at him curiously, patiently waiting for him to tell her.

"There's a festival tonight it starts in…" His gaze flickered to the clock and back to Amelia. "Two hours." She smiled brightly and turned on her heel heading for the stairs, mumbling something about going to get ready. Gaara was in no rush to get there and moved into the kitchen, making a quick dinner and sitting down to enjoy it…he noticed it didn't taste near as good as when Amelia cooked it.

Amelia had finally finished her hair and her make-up, and moved to her closet, digging for the spot where she had thrown the kimono. She pulled it out and looked at it, it was long, with a white and light blue pattern, the Kazekage's colors. Carefully she slipped it on over her head and twirled once in front of the mirror, laughing lightly as she saw her reflection.

She quickly moved down the stairs and into the living room, she frowned slightly when she saw no Gaara. He must have still been getting dressed. She moved into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water waiting for the red head to walk down the stairs. When she heard a door slam shut she smiled and walked into the living room, and her jaw dropped.

He was in a matching outfit to her, only his consisted of slacks and a partially open trench coat. She immediately glided across the room and met him at the bottom of the stairs, and winding her arms around his torso, resting her chin on his shoulder. He chuckled and lazily threw an arm around her. She pulled away smiling and motioned towards the door.

A soft groan escaped the red head, but he headed towards the door all the same. Amelia following shortly after. They hadn't even been outside for five minutes when Amelia was pulled away by Temari and Gaara was surrounded by the female teenage population…and people wonder why he hates these events…

"Temari? Where are we going?" Amelia asked quietly, Temari didn't answer the dark haired beauty and instead dragged her in between crowds and towards the dance floor, she pointed through the crowd, Kankuro was dancing with the girl he had knocked into. Amelia's jaw dropped and a smile graced her lips.

"If only I had a camera I could blackmail him for years." Amelia trailed off shaking her head in disbelief. Temari snickered from beside her, covering her mouth. Amelia was smiling and chuckling, before she side-glanced at Temari.

"Temari, do you know who she is? She seems like she's having a pretty good time dancing with him." Temari blinked confused before she looked back at the two, and sure enough she had her head pressed against his chest and a small smile on her face.

"I think her name is Camelia…she's a chunnin." Temari squinted and nodded her head affirming the statement. Amelia looked up at Temari and grinned wickedly a plan forming in her head. Temari raised her eyebrow curiously as Amelia shifted her weight.

"I bet…" Her gaze flickered to Temari. "That if you help I can get them together in a month tops." She still had a wicked grin on her face and she saw the slight confusion and she chuckled darkly. "We you live alone with a gigantic perverted murderous raccoon for over a year, he starts to rub off on you." It was Temari's turn to grin.

"I'm so in. When do we start?" Temari peered over two teenagers as Kankuro twirled the girl.

"Come over tomorrow while Gaara is at the office and we shall devise a plan…c'mon we have to go before he realizes we are watching him." They stood up and began weaving there way through the crowds. Amelia stopped and tugged Temari's arm. "Oh yes…By the way if Gaara asks I didn't know about this festival until today. I took the liberty of sending out a special invitation…it should be waiting for you by the punch bowl." Amelia flashed her a grin and then disappeared.

Temari looked at the spot she once stood, stunned slightly. Damn the raccoon's deviousness sure rubbed off on her. She focused now on pushing her way through the crowds, slowly making her way towards the tables with lines and lines of seemingly endless foods. She stopped as she reached the bowls of liquid and blinked. Shikamaru stood looking at the crowd bored when his gaze found her and a crooked grin crossed his lips.

"Yo."

Amelia weaved and spun, avoiding people and gaining no attention, the exact opposite of the wind mistress. She came upon a horde of teenage girls with hearts for eyes and sighed, damn her guilt trips…She fought her way through the mass actually having to push some of them, they either seemed to excited to notice or simply didn't care. Am I just the only teenager that doesn't want to screw the first thing I see move? She shook her head to erase the thought and managed to stumble through the front of the line. She cleared her throat quickly and spoke in a perfect British accent.

"Gaara! I have not seen you in so long! How have you been?" Gaara raised one of his eyebrows amused as she boldly hugged him in front of the entire mass of females. She whispered quickly and quietly into his ear. "Play along, there is no way in hell they are going to recognize me tomorrow and besides I can get you away from them." He smirked and hugged her back.

**Man aren't you glad I introduced you too her!** The demon bragged in his head and Gaara just smirked mentally as Amelia turned to face the mob.

"If you don't mind I have to talk business with Gaara-sama…and I'm sure you wouldn't want to pull him away from his work?" She questioned with such pure innocence that most of them believed her. They looked depressed but left none-the-less. Amelia grinned.

"Victory!" She turned around to face him planting her hands on her hips, her eyes scanning him from head to toe. "Well it doesn't look like they mugged you that bad…that's a good sign." She laughed lightly covering her mouth with her hand. Gaara's eyes narrowed and he growled walking past her.

"Girl…" She held her hands up in defeat, prancing after him.

"Alright alright."

However, when she did catch up to him, she saw the faintest of smiles on his face.


	8. The Kitty

Mrs. Neji Uchiha-I am a HUGE ShikaTema fan so you will see that in all of my stories lol anyway please enjoy!

cats-rock-and-so-does-cheese- You don't find much out about Carmelita, but you do find out Amelia's plan...

darkness engulfs me- Ok I updated this one just for you cause you brought the damn chibi's and they are my weakness! There's a little bit of fighting in this one so you get to learn a little bit about her powers, plus Temari's in this one and of course that usually means theres humor...

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Amelia smirked putting the final touches on the piece of paper in front of her; delicately she folded it up and placed it inside an envelope sealing it quickly. Temari grinned and bounced excitedly, the love letter was perfect, it even looked like Kankuro's sloppy handwriting. Its replica, except in a much fancier calligraphy lay a few feet away. Amelia grinned and tossed Temari the one she just sealed.

"Take this to Camelia and I will take that one to Kankuro…and then you go spend the day with Shikamaru before he has to go back to Konoha." Amelia pushed back the chair and stood up from the table, heading for the door. She walked outside when she was spun around by Temari, who was biting her bottom lip.

"Thanks for inviting Shika…I haven't seen him in awhile." Amelia smiled and laughed, causing the blonde to do the same.

"No problem Temari…" Said blonde disappeared swiftly after that and left to find the girl while Amelia set off to find Kankuro. Through the crowd she managed to spot a sliver of black and a smile spread across her face as she raced through the crowd, focusing solely on the black jumpsuit outfit. She approached him swiftly.

"Kitty!" She jumped on his back almost knocking him over and throwing her arms around his neck. She laughed and handed him the letter while he grinned over his shoulder and took the letter, not yet looking at it.

"Kitty?" Amelia laughed and nodded, tightening her grip on his neck. Kankuro laughed with her, finally glancing at the letter and relaxing slightly beneath her. She lowered her head to whisper near his ear.

"You should have seen what I called Shukaku." She whispered low and slid off his back, shaking her head slightly and then looking to the sky before giggling to herself at some distant memory. She looked back to the puppeteer and smiled. "Hey Kitty want to train with me?" He flinched at the nickname…if Temari ever discovered it…he shuddered at the thought, but he grinned down at the smaller girl and nodded. Her entire face brightened and she jumped on his back, and the dark haired male grabbed her legs and took off running.

As soon as he stepped on the training grounds, she nimbly jumped from his back and landed perfectly on the other side of the arena, a bow in one hand, but no arrows…it had been along time since anyone had used a bow and arrows, and Kankuro couldn't think of anyway that just the bow would be useful… either way the tool, it just wasn't quick enough, she grinned at his expression.

"When I was first alive, humans did not know they had chakra, much less were they able to harness and control it. Shukaku taught me how to use the bow and arrow, I would not underestimate it, it has more power when harnessed correctly, then you would think." she stood up straight, waiting for the puppeteer to go first, strapping the bow to her back. He quickly released crow.

It started with her dodging, and damn was she fast, Kankuro was using most of his concentration just to follow her, currently she was doing nothing but defensive moves, and she showed no signs of tiring, he could tell she was barely using any chakra…this was going to be a long fight.

Gaara said nothing as he followed his eldest sibling out of the gigantic building which consisted of his office and the elders…annoyance ran through him at the very thought of the old bickering fools, who couldn't decide on anything if it bit em' in the-

"Gaara I haven't seen Kankuro all day and when I went by your house to see Amelia…she wasn't there, when I tried to find there chakra to track it I couldn't." The blonde wind mistress had successfully gained the red heads attention. He looked at her curiously and narrowed his eyes, his body tensing, and a slight growl escape his throat as he thought of his brother touching Amelia.

"What?" He hissed through clenched teeth and Temari slightly flinched and sheepishly looked at him and nodded confirming her earlier statement, he began making the hand signs to summon his sand eye, when a small boys voice gained there attention.

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help overhearing…if you're looking for a pretty girl and a guy dressed in all black…they went to the training arena earlier today, they may still be there." The small boy swiftly bowed and as his mother called his name, he whirled around and raced back to her. Temari and Gaara blinked once and looked at each other before Gaara brushed past her moving quickly towards the arena. Temari sighed and followed close behind, and sooner-then-not, they arrived seeing Kankuro out in the center of the field, Crow attached to his fingers with chakra strings. Kankuro was breathing heavily, but not a single scratch covered his body as his eyes scanned the arena, searching for the small girl known as Amelia.

The chakra ties to his puppet were suddenly torn to pieces and he was pinned to a dummy with four arrows cutting through his clothes, each glowing a sea green, a lot like the color of Amelia's eyes. She jumped down from one of the buildings and tossed her hair back and trotted towards him.

"I'm sorry Kitty…did I forget to mention that Shukaku unleashed my chakra…and trained me to lace it with my arrows?" She stopped in front of him and scratched her chin looking up as if trying to remember. Kankuro grumbled something under his breath and Amelia laughed. She spoke something in an ancient tongue and the arrows disappeared, causing Kankuro to fall rather ungracefully to the sand.

"Amelia." Said girl stopped, froze and whirled around. She smiled as she gazed at the other two Sabaku siblings, and left Kankuro on the ground heading straight for the red head who had spoken her name. She broke into a small jog and reached him swiftly. As usual she looped her arms around his waist and hugged the boy tightly, with her cheek pressed against his chest. Gaara didn't tense; in fact he seemed to relax a little as he hugged her back. After a few seconds they pulled away and Gaara spun on his heel heading towards his house, the smaller female walking beside him, but at the current moment Temari did not care about her youngest sibling as she walked towards Kankuro and squatted beside grinning evilly.

"And uh…I guess your not to much of a graceful kitten are ya?" And as Gaara and Amelia continued there walk they heard along stream of curses fly from Kankuro's mouth and loud boisterous feminine laughter.


	9. Loosing Track of Time

I'm sorry its so short guys! I don't have alot of time but I wanted to get something up since I have a TON of school work...plus I am slightly sick and my insomnia is kicking in again...anyway like I said I don't have much time, but I hope you guys enjoy!

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Amelia smiled and gazed down at the sleeping red head, she had the urge to touch the black rings around his eyes, but fought it back with all her willpower. She felt for him, she couldn't imagine sitting alone for countless hours, day after day…she would of gone mad. She respected him, he was exceptionally strong… but then again she and the Shukaku had history, she would of probably spent most of the time talking to him. Gently so she didn't startle him, she gently shook his shoulder, trying to arouse him from sleep.

The red head groaned and mumbled something below his breath and slowly blinked his black lidded eyes open. Amelia squatted down beside the bed and took a chance. She ran her fingers through his surprisingly soft hair until his eyes seemed to focus tiredly on her face. She smiled as his body instinctively moved and strecthed. She ran her fingers from his hair to his forehead and brushed over the kanji love tat- scar?

Her eyes left his guarded aquamarines and trailed to the symbol, the ridges and its rough texture indicated that it was in fact a scar and not a tattoo, she squinted and moved closer to him. Her fingers delicately brushing the stray strands of hair out of the way. As her fingers trailed across it once more, a shiver made its way down his spine. She snapped out of her trance as his fingers coiled over her wrist and her eyes darted back to his.

"What are you doing?" Amelia only now realized how close they had gotten, she could feel his breath on her face and she blinked, his question leaving her mind almost as quickly as it had come. She couldn't look at his intense gaze any more so her eyes traveled to his fingers which were coiled around her wrist, they tightened slightly. "I asked you a question girl."

For the first time since he had met her, a true deep hatred burned beneath her eyes as her eyes clouded slightly and she looked like she was remembering something. Her voice came out, laced with hatred, anger, and agony all at the same time.

"They were the cause of that weren't they? Your supposed friends and family? At first they pretend to love and adore you, but the second you do something that offends or dishonors them, they disown you and hope for your death." Her words were pure acid as she hissed through her teeth…she had experienced the exact same thing as he had, except she was actually killed…and he was still alive. She had successfully nailed his childhood while remembering her own death, the very same hatred that Gaara had fueled to feed his power hungry mind, until Naruto came along, was the same hatred that had brought about her death.

Does anyone else see the morbid laughter here?

Gaara's thumb uncoiled itself from around her wrist and gently made patterns lazily onto the back of her hand. Amelia sighed and laid her head on the edge of the bed, her body position switched so she was kneeling instead of squatting, a small sigh left her lips and she opened her eyes, and smiled half-heartedly.

"Thank you Gaara…Sometimes…..I…..get….." Her words trailed into nothing as she felt his warm breath puff against her lips as he breathed. His nose just barely skimmed hers as her eyes locked with his. Her eye lids drooped slightly and she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his.

It was an innocent kiss and Amelia broke it, running her fingers through his hair again. She smiled as he reopened his eyes lazily. She leaned up and gently brushed her lips against the scar on his forehead, before she moved her lips to his ear.

"Go back to sleep Gaara…I have forgotten that you don't work today." She whispered into his skin and he shivered again. She stood up and began walking for the door, when something coiled around her waist and yanked her backwards. She let out a surprised yelp and found herself facing the red head, who seemed to have a different look in his eye yet she couldn't place what it was.

"Girl…I have decided I like you here." Amelia smiled as he closed his eyes, yet his arm remained locked around her waist. She snuggled down into the mattress that was ridiculously comfortable and soon fell just as quickly to sleep as the Kazekage had himself.


	10. The Past

OoOLady HeatherOoO-Thanks!

Akizu Miko- I have to put some romance in these and thanks!

Mrs. Neji Uchiha- The only time I excuse people for calling Gaara's scar a tattoo, is when the story takes place in our world, because then I can understand that a scar would not be that prominent on anyone's face so then if they call it a tattoo I'm OK with it. Oh ya and good look with geo.

Under a Killing Moon- First of all I love your username thats really original and I love it! and I'm glad I could make you feel a little better I know I hate being sick.

cats-rock-and-so-does-cheese- I got a break from schoolwork...WOOHOO! I have time to update!

Sesshy Loves Kacey- Gaara says her name! (Does a happy dance) Not much f Gaara in this one, but I felt I needed to throw the Shukaku in here...I mean if it wasn't for him they wouldn't even be together so he has to be in here every once in awhile. I hope I didn't make the Shukaku too OOC...please tell me what you think!

AnimeStar001-Awww your review made me smile! Gaara is beginning to have feelings for her, whether a wedding is in there near future or not I don't know...I kind of write these off the top of my head, I don't really plan things out. I mean I get the general idea of a story but thats kind of the end of it...anyway I'll stop talking so you can read it..of ya one more thing please tell me if you think the Shukaku is to OOC

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Amelia laid on the sand, her arms behind her head with her eyes closed. The training arena was currently empty and she took the opportunity to relax. Suddenly she stopped feeling the sun touching her and she opened her eyes. The Shukaku stood, grinning down at her and she smiled and jumped up, throwing her arms around his neck, energy returning to her. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her back. A lecherous grin crossing his face and she narrowed her eyes cautiously at him.

"You like the boy! You like my host!" He roared and Amelia's jaw dropped and she folded her arms across her chest, but a smile crossed her face. He walked so he stood in front of her and grinned. "Gaara and Amelia sitting in a tree F-U-C-K-I-N-" Amelia jumped the demon and covered his mouth, they tumbled to the sand and she landed on top of him laughing.

"I hate you do you know that!" Amelia managed between her bursts of laughter. The Shukaku's laughter rumbled in his chest and slightly shook the girl sprawled across him. He stood up, bringing her with him and threw her onto his back. She screamed lightly but her laughter never stopped.

"You wouldn't be the first…stupid girl." He lunged forward earning another surprised yelp in response. Amelia laughed as the Shukaku ran in the arena in strange intricate patterns, twisting and turning. Her fingers fisted in his fur. She laughed and jumped off his back after awhile.

"Alright fine…I know you're jealous…so I'll settle the score." Before the Shukaku could say anything she kissed the sand spirit in between the eyes. His face gave off a pink hue and Amelia laughed while Shukaku glared at the girl.

"What did ya do that for?….Stupid girl." He mumbled the last part under his breath and Amelia only laughed harder not having the ability to stay standing any longer, she fell backwards into the sand, clutching her stomach. The Shukaku snarled, and suddenly she was scooped up and squeezed tightly enough to gain her attention and she stopped laughing.

"Stop laughing girl." Amelia shut up, but kept smiling. The demon growled but released her and turned his back to her and began walking away. Amelia scrambled back to her feet and ran in front of him, halting him in his tracks. He glared down at her.

"I'm sorry…will you ever forgive me?" The Shukaku continued to stare her down and Amelia hung her head, her hair falling in front of her face. After a minute of silence, the Shukaku huffed and a loud thump caught her ears. She lifted her head slightly to see her best friend laying in the sand, his golden orbs watching her. Amelia squealed and ran forward, throwing her arms around his neck. He snorted.

"Stupid girl…" She smiled and plopped down in the sand, in between his two front paws. She leaned back against his chest, resting there. She traced his stripes with her fingers as he rested his head in her lap. She moved her fingers to his ears, his favorite place to be scratched. He shuddered and a monotone purr-growl vibrated in his vocal cords. Amelia frowned slightly and asked the question that had been on her mind.

"What happened…." She paused and the raccoon dog didn't even seem to be paying attention. She sighed and began again. "What happened…after I died? I mean what happened to you?" She bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should ask the question.

The purring stopped.

He opened his eyes and didn't move. Amelia opened her mouth to tell him he didn't have to answer it, but he did beat her to it.

"I killed them…starting with your father. I killed each and every one of them, and then of course the village. But it became an addiction. I became blood thirsty and I couldn't stop…not that I had wanted to. Human blood was so much better then animal blood…and then a bunch of bastards impressed me in a damn tea kettle." He paused and scowled at the memory before continuing. "And then some old fart imprisoned me in Gaara while he was still inside his mom." Amelia was quiet for along time.

"You started with my father? That must have been a crappy start for trying a new meat." The spirit lifted its head and looked her in the eye. "My father was a slimy worm of a man…as a matter of fact I cant think of anyone worse you could've started out with…oh maybe my mother, but I think she was more slimy in the snake-like way…either way I think it's a lose, lose situation."

"Stupid girl…" The Shukaku chuckled and collapsed back into her lap, his body curling so she was now resting against his side with his tail curled around her, much like a dog. "I can figure out the toughest of so-called ninja but you…you I will never understand no matter how many of your kind I devour." She scratched his ears again and smiled.

"Awww thank you! That's one of the nicest things you've ever said to me." He didn't even open an eye as he responded.

"That wasn't a compliment girl." She paused for a moment, and suddenly the Shukaku lifted his head and snarled before sighing, he stood up, lifting Amelia to her feet with his tail. He looked down at her. "Be safe…do not make me destroy this village as well." Amelia smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissing the tip of his snout.

"I knew you cared about me." The spirit snorted and turned away from her chuckling.

"Stupid girl…" He disappeared in a whirl of sand. Only now did Amelia realize how much time she had actually spent with the sand spirit, as the sun was now dipping below the horizon. The sound of footsteps behind her caught her attention. A familiar red head walked into the arena and Amelia smiled.

She jogged towards him and without a sound, looped her arms around his neck. She smiled into his shoulder as she felt his arms wind around her. He placed his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

"Amelia…"


	11. The Kitty Part 2

**Don't have time to respond to everyone and I'm sorry. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and I really appreciate it. A couple people have stated they would like to see what happens once the Shukaku is extracted. I haven't decided if I'm going to follow that part of the series or not. Since technically the shukaku is the tye between Gaara and Amelia I feel bad breaking it and two even though I know Gaara is revieved, she would still loose both of her loves in one-shot and I think it would be much strain emotionally and spiritually. But as of now its still undecided.**

* * *

Gaara had grown attached to the girl named Amelia. He enjoyed her presence, her laugh, her smile. Although the proud Kazekage would never admit this aloud he knew it deep within his heart. Gaara shifted and groaned, his sea colored blinked open and he felt warm on the right side of his body. He turned his head to find the girl that occupied the majority of his thoughts curled up and clinging to his right arm, her slender body pressed up against his.

A flicker of a smile crossed his face as he coiled his left arm around her hugging her tightly. She groaned and her legs unfolded and stretched out, her body arching against his. She yawned and blinked open her eyes, she smiled up at the Kazekage and cuddled closer to him. One of her hands lazily lifted up to his forehead playing with a longer strand of the unmanageable red locks, her finger curled and uncurled around it affectionately.

Without warning Amelia stopped her actions and a small frown made itself visible on her features. She sat up, releasing the red head which caused a slight grumble to escape his throat and his eyes cracked open again, but Amelia had already stood up and moved without a sound and disappeared into his closet. Gaara sat up now interested in the females behavior and his door opened and in walked his brother.

"Gaara? What the hell are you doing still in bed? The elders have been waiting for you for almost three hours now." Kankuro groaned as Gaara stood up and grabbed a maroon shirt to match the pants he had worn to bed. He threw the peace over his head. "They called Temari in there about forty-five minutes ago. I doubt shes too happy right now."

Gaara frowned slightly. What do those bickering old fouls want with Temari? He racked his brain trying to remember and then it hit him, Shikamaru had proposed and Temari had accepted. The meeting was to get the official documents signed which would allow Shikamaru to become a Sunagakure resident. In exchange Kankuro was going to move to Konoha to replace him.

"I'll be ready in a minute wait for me downstairs." Gaara motioned towards the door and Kankuro knew better then to argue with the Kazekage and quickly accomplished the request, shutting the door behind him. The reincarnated beauty left the closet once she was sure it was safe and trotted up to Gaara and coiled her arms around the red head. He was used to this by now, apparently she had claimed the right of sleeping in his bed claiming it was far more comfortable then any other bed she had ever slept on. Its not like Gaara truly complained over this fact either.

"You know I almost feel bad for Konoha. They already have the ever popular pervert Kiba and with Kankuro moving there to help him…" She trailed off and pulled away from the red head, attempting to pull her messy hair into a ponytail. She smiled before she briefly skipped towards the door and walked into the hallway, still clad in a wrinkled white tank top and a pair of baggy pajama bottoms.

She smiled as the back of Kankuro came into her line of vision, she immediately snapped into stealth mode. With the grace and skill of a master predator she stalked across the living room, eyeing the puppeteer like a gigantic slab of juicy meat. She crouched low and made her move. She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the boys neck and her legs around his waist.

"Kitty!" Came the joyous shout from the small female, said puppeteer grunted and grabbed her legs as she clund to his waist. She smiled and laughed as he began parading around the room just like he had won the worlds largest trophy, and of course neither heard the Kazekage walk down the stairs. It took a moment for Amelia to notice him, but when she did, she squirmed until Kankuro let her go.

Immediately she bounded over to the red head. A ghost of a smile flickered across his face as Amelia coiled her arms around him and he immediately copied the action without hesitation. Kankuro watched this with a slight curiosity. Gaara never showed affection to anyone. The closest thing that came to it was when he thanked Naruto and placed his hand on his shoulder. Gaara was also very hidden and preserved, never showing emotion to the public, even under the roughest circumstances. So for even a flicker of a smile and the fact that he was actually hugging someone bewildered the poor boy. For a split second, Gaara looked happy and Kankuro was glad that Gaara had found Amelia. She pulled away from him and smiled.

"Good luck!" She then whipped around, her eyes narrowing and a low growl escaping her throat as she trotted up to Kankuro. "As for you Kitty, I expect to see you once a month…if you don't come visit me so help me Gaara I will ask the Shukaku to kick your ass." Her expression turned playful once more, and Kankuro froze for a moment.

It seemed to hit him. If he left to live in Konoha he wouldn't be able to see Amelia anymore. He didn't like Amelia like a potential couple, he saw what she was doing for Gaara and knew immediately not to touch her, but Kankuro loved her like a sister, probably even more so then Temari. He didn't want to leave her. He gave a forced smile and scooped up the girl into a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm not leaving today…but I'll promise I'll spend my last day with you alright." The girl nodded enthusiastically and she waved as the two siblings disappeared out the front door.


	12. Shock

OoOLady HeatherOoO- Its good to know that I am not the only one with a dirty mind...lol

darkness engulfs me- Mission impossible achieved by... (drumroll goes off)...oh so sorry Amelia even though your runner-up with taming the Shukaku unfortunatley Christine takes the cake with babysitting the brats from hell...so sorry Amelia so sorry...hehehe I LOVE YOU CHRISTINE!!

. Shes-The-Pyro-Type .- First off I just hope I got your screename right...I'm kind of retarded when it comes to those things Second...thank you thank you thank you! Your review really gave me inspiration to continue writing. I've been gone all week and normally I update much faster, but anyway I'll shut up so you can read the chapter! Thank you again!

Under A Killing Moon-how many people did you have to give a speech to? i hate speaking in front of any kind of group...I'm the one that calls the role of holding the poster while everyone else points to it and gives information...lol da dun na na now presenting Poster girl to the rescue lol

perfect-pisces- You know whats sad? I am a pisces and for the life of me I can't spell it right on the first try...what's up with that? Anyway thank you and I felt kind of bad giving Kankuro the boot, but he'll live...lol

* * *

"Amelia! I'm getting married! You have to help me pick out a dress! Ahhh! Hurry up get dressed!" Temari could barely contain herself and was practically putting clothes on Amelia. As soon as she had her shoes on, Temari grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the house and down the street, heading for the main market place of Sunagakure.

Temari skidded to a halt and raced into the first wedding shop they saw, before Amelia could say anything the older girl grabbed at least thirty dresses in a blur of purple and blonde and disappeared into the dressing room. Poor Amelia looked kind of stunned and stumbled as Temari whizzed past her for the last time. The old shop keeper chuckled and walked over to her.

"Forgive me if I am mistaken, but you are Amelia correct? The girl that lives with the Kazekage?" Amelia blinked and it took her a minute to make the connection of Gaara being the Kazekage but she nodded slowly anyway. The woman smiled. "So maybe I will see you here pretty soon eh?" She chuckled and walked back to the counter, Amelia's jaw dropped and she couldn't seem to get over what the woman said…that is until Temari called her name.

"Oh Amelia! What do you think of this one I really love it!" Amelia litterally did a double take. The dress was white with a pale pink under layer, it made Temari's green eyes flare out against it and all and all she looked stunning, and poor Amelia's jaw just couldn't seem to stay shut today. Temari looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress and Amelia bounced excitedly and glomped Temari.

"Awww! Temari you look hella hot…I don't know if Shika will be able to make it through the night!" Amelia jumped up and down eagerly, completely forgetting what the woman had just said. Temari laughed along with her and Amelia pushed her back into the dressing room. " Hurry up and change. You don't want to ruin it and besides we need to go out for celebratory drinks!" Temari laughed as she exited the dressing room, dress in hand.

"Sorry Amelia I have to get going to Konoha because we all know Shikamaru's not going to plan this thing." Temari paid for the dress and Amelia pouted, crossing her arms across her chest like a spoiled child. "But there has been something I've been meaning to ask you…Will you be my maid of honor?" Amelia's jaw dropped for the third time today and she squealed excitedly before she jumped on Temari, who laughed.

"Of course! Ugh! I can't believe I have to wait like an entire month! This sucks!" Amelia bounced excitedly. "Ahh! I have to find Shukaku! He's gonna freak when I tell him I can finally wear one of the dresses he got for me." Amelia went off in a daydream and Temari chuckled.

"Bye Amelia see you in a month!" Amelia snapped out of her thoughts and waved as Temari disappeared. She rocked on her heels as the thousands of dresses Shukaku had brought her swarmed through her mind. When she finally snapped out of her thoughts the sky was growing dark. She sighed and glanced around the now nearly deserted street. A flash of red caught her vision and she smiled.

"Gaara!" The red head stopped walking and turned half way around. Amelia grinned and bounded towards him, once she was close enough she jumped on him. The Kazekage grunted but caught her all the same. Amelia laughed and kissed the kanji scar on his forehead. He set her down gently and she smiled up at him and linked her arm with his.

To anyone watching, they would probably think Amelia was nothing more then an ally, at best to the Kazekage. He showed no emotion and simply walked beside her while she carried a bounce in her step like an excited puppy. But if you actually knew Gaara, it would easily make you do a double-take. Gaara never let anyone touch him, never let anyone get near him, and never showed any emotion. Amelia not only touched him, she hugged him and often times he would hug her back. She was almost always near him, except when he was working and it was clear that Gaara enjoyed her company even if he didn't show it physically. He was much more light hearted with her around.

People like Temari, Kankuro, and possibly even Baki, noticed the subtle yet major difference. Arm and arm the two walked down the streets of Suna. Amelia humming some tune to fill the silence and her counterpart catching every slight raise and fall in the hum with perfect accuracy. She stopped about half way back and turned her head to look up at him.

"You are going to Temari's wedding right?" Her tone was light and carefree, she was giving him a choice, she wasn't going to scold him if he said no, she wasn't going to threaton him, she was simply asking him a question, Gaara's eyes flitted to her locking her gaze.

"Unfortunatley…" He paused when he saw the smile fall from her face and her posture slumped slightly. "I have to attend…although I can think of many more beneficial things I could be doing." He trailed off and looked up as if finding his reassurance there. Amelia stopped her stride and blinked, and Amelia had her fourth shock of the day as her jaw dropped again. Gaara stopped walking and turned to face her.

"Y-you…" Amelia pointed an accusing finger at him as shock registered over her face. "You just t-told a joke…no way!" Gaara smirked at her reaction and a deep throated chuckle escaped his throat. Amelia seemed to snap out of her shock and slowly walked towards, she gently cupped his face with both of her hands. "Who are you and what have you done with Gaara?" She looked dead serious and if anything this inflated his ego which could be the fuel behind his next action.

He placed a profound kiss on her lips with the speed and skill of a master ninja. When he pulled away, Amelia seemed slightly dazed and she stumbled on her feet. A sloppy smile crossed her face as she clung to his shoulders for balance. He stayed still and her eyes refocused on his.

"Nope never mind…your Gaara…and damn do you learn fast." His sea colored eyes rolled once before he turned around and began heading home. Amelia, of course, trotted to his side in a matter of seconds and matched his stride with perfection. Gaara compared her with a magnet, his eyes always seemed drawn to her. He would gaze somewhere else but then as soon as something that even remotely resembled her popped into his brain he found himself watching her once more.

He had a goal when she was near, he had something to protect and treasure and even though the emotion was conflicting he knew what he needed to protect, and to do this he needed to protect Suna. By protecting Suna he felt like he was also protecting what he felt obligated too, a smile. Amelia's smile. As if reading his thoughts she wrapped her arm around his and laced there fingers, Gaara looked down at her and felt victorious as a smile was clearly seen across her face.


	13. Sand

Otaku4lyphe-Thank you! Yep Temari's haing a wedding...not here though XD

SugarLandBabyGirl- Thanks! Please enjoy this chapter!

Under A Killing Moon- Dude I got kicked out a therapy...but thats a different story...

ANBU are sexy- Thanks please enjoy!

AnimeStar001- Ya well Temari dosen't really seem like the type to go shopping eery weekend so I wanted to make it seem like she wanted to look awesome she just didn't wanna go to all the hard work!

benckie-boo-Hahahaha! You guys are the reason I write...I wouldn' if it wasn't for you fans!

darkness engulfs me-No...no...no no no no you get the honor I have two little sisters I would know...

OoOLady HeatherOoO- Ugh! I blam Geometry for my lack of updation!

KikiOjji-Thank you very much I hope you enjoy this chapter!

SS-lover06-Thank you enjoy!

* * *

Amelia was bored out of her mind and to be perfectly honest, she missed Gaara. She had formed a major crush on the red head and was always excited to see him when he walked in the door. However during the days like today she would spend her boredom just past the gates of Suna increasing her speed, stealth and stamina by chasing after desert hares and other fast desert animals, and of course avoiding scorpions. She crouched low to the ground half walking on her hands as the particularly fast hair nibbled on a green shrub.

Suddenly a gigantic foot squashed the rabbit and was inches away from her face. Amelia shrieked and fell over backwards her gaze instinctively looking up at the gigantic figure of the laughing sand spirit. One of her hands was clutching her shirt where her heart should be as she scrambled to her feet.

"Are you trying to kill me!? Holy shit! Stupid blood-thirsty overgrown raccoon!" She snarled and the Shukaku lowered its massive head and locked her gaze with his dead panned golden orbs.

"You wound me." Came the flat response and Amelia snorted, scoffed and looked away from him. The demon just simply started laughing, obviously amused at her . Amelia narrowed her eyes at him and jumped. Faster the he could register she had darted straight up his neck and was racing across his back in a strange pattern. She had cheated. The fluttering motions of her feet had the sand spirit biting his own mouth to keep from laughing. Amelia knew his weakness.

Gaara left in a hurry from his office before another elder could unload another stack of paperwork on him…the lazy bastards. His keen senses swiftly picked up Amelia's chakra and he followed it, curious as to what she was doing in the opposite direction of his home. He followed it all the way to Suna's gate and the guards nodded to him as he passed. Had she left him alone too? That thought stabbed at his heart and he shook his head. No she wouldn't do that. When he was about a mile out of Suna he could sense her really well, but he couldn't see her. This worried him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Amelia shot over a sand dune like the hounds of hell were at her heels. Her voice at a frantic yell, and sure enough right behind her came the Shukaku, launching sand at her and her avoiding them on pure dumb luck. She spotted him out of the corner of her eye but before she could say anything, she was covered in a ball of sand. The shukaku sniggered and stopped.

Gaara instinctively controlled the sand and moved it off of Amelia, The Shukaku snorted and groaned as Amelia streaked across the unstable terrain and disappeared behind the red head. He rolled his golden eyes and huffed.

"Stupid girl…always gotta ruin my fun." The Shukaku disappeared in a whirlwind of sand and Amelia hugged Gaara from behind. Gaara felt his stress ebb away as she pressed her body to his back and nuzzled his shoulder with her nose. He could feel her ragged breath on the back of his neck. She had obviously been running for quite awhile.

"Thank you Gaara…damn raccoon has been chasing me ever since I tickled him this morning." Her voice sent a shiver down his spine and he narrowed his eyes. Why was this girl effecting him so much? What was she doing to him? For now he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on a strange piece of information that she had just told him.

"Shukaku? Ticklish?" He heard Amelia chuckle and release his waist, he felt strangely cold when she broke the embrace. She offered him her arm and he looped his own through hers catching her drift. She closed her eyes and her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, after a moment her eyes opened and she smiled.

"When I first found that out I had known the Shukaku for about a year. I had grown accustomed to sleeping on his back…he was warm, I was cold…you get the picture. Anyway he always woke up before me except for this one time. I woke up before he did and walked across his back to slide down…well he woke up laughing and I froze where I stood. It took me a minute to realize that I had tickled him. I used it to my advantage more then once…" Amelia trailed off and quietly giggled obviously thinking back to her days on the island. She shook her head and when she brought herself back to the present, a smile spread across her face. Gaara felt something bubble in his stomach as he saw her smile. It was the same feeling he had when he accomplished something, except it was much greater.

Amelia shook her head back and forth, resembling that of a dog and thousands of grains of sand fell from her hair and drifted to the desert floor. She scowled as she stood back up, glaring at nothing in particular. She scowled and folded her arms before mumbling to herself.

"Bloody raccoon and his bloody sand." She mumbled some more incoherent curses about the demon as she continued to pick the grains out of her hair. Gaara couldn't seem to get the smirk off his face as she continued cussing out the sand spirit, after they had basically reached his home he showed Amelia some sympathy and using his chakra, summoned the sand that was still in her hair to him. She jumped and whirled around.

Amelia was mesmerized by the way he manipulated it, using his fingers to make it form into shapes and figures. Then it flew behind him and became apart of his gourd. Since it was already fused with his chakra, he might as well use it. He walked past Amelia and into his house. He decided to skip dinner and head straight to bed.

He stripped himself down to just his pants and laid down, sleep was still a new thing for him, but he enjoyed it thoroughly. He felt his bed shift and frowned, his eyes snapping open. They widened considerably as they stared at the familiar face of Amelia, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Your bed is more comfy then mine…plus your warmer." She snuggled in closer to him and pressed her nose right up against his chest. Gaara stiffened and didn't move. Amelia could feel his eyes burning into her hair and she began to wonder if she pushed him to far, but as soon as the thought entered her head, she felt his arm, lazily loop around her waist and a rumble escape from his chest. Amelia smiled and closed her eyes, and Gaara did the same.


	14. You Found Me

SugarlandBabygirl- This chapter is filled with angst, but I promise it will get better!

Me and Gaara 4ever- Thank you! This chapter is depressing but hopefully you like it!

Akizu Miko- Thank you! Please enjoy!

AnimeStar001-Fuzzbutt? Hahaha! Thats funny! I like the idea of a warm cuddly Gaara! It makes him seem Kawaii! Anyway this is the chapter everyone has been waiting for, I hope I didn't speed through it to fast, but I didn't want to linger to long on the depression. Please tell me what you think!

**Please read the song lyrics I think they matched this chapter really well! I do not own them!**

* * *

_I found God  
on the corner of First and Amistad  
Where the west  
was all but won  
All along  
Smoking his last cigarette  
I said, where've you been?  
He said, ask anything._

Where were you?  
When everything was falling apart.  
All my days spent by the telephone.  
And all I needed was a call  
It never came  
To the corner of Firs tand Amistad

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded  
Why'd you have to wait?  
Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late.  
You found me, you found me.

But in the end  
Everyone ends up alone  
Losing hope  
The only one who's ever known  
Who I am, Who I'm not, Who I want to be  
[ The Fray Lyrics are found on .com ]  
No way to know  
How long she will be next to me

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded  
Why'd you have to wait?  
Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late.  
You found me, you found me.

I've been calling for years and years  
and you've never left me no messages  
Never sent me no letters

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded  
Why'd you have to wait?  
Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late.  
You found me, you found me.

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded  
Why'd you have to wait?  
Where were you? Where were you?  
Just a little late.  
You found me, you found me.

* * *

All Amelia could feel was the cold, like being lost in a blizzard so strong, that you can't see anything and the only feeling you get is the winds slamming against your body. The sound of a steady rhythmic beat broke through the cold, it was a soft beeping sound. Amelia struggled to open her eyes and when she did she blinked once and shut them. The room was a sickly white and she was hooked up to about seen or eight IV's. She thought she had fallen asleep next to Gaara hadn't she?

She tried to sit up but failed horribly as intense pain shot through the majority of her body. She gasped and collapsed back onto the bed trying to remember what happened. The door opened and Amelia groaned. The nurse quickly raced over to her side and kneeled down by her head.

"Miss are you in any pain?" The nurse already had some morphine in her hands, and Amelia struggled to talk.

"Wha-what happened?" The nurse injected some of the morphine into one of her IV's. After she was done, she pulled the blanket back up and took Amelia's temperature.

"You don't remember miss? You were in quite an explosion." And just like that it all came back to Amelia. Despite the pain she jumped straight up, her eyes wide and her breath came in ragged gasps. Her hand went to her head and clenched the top of her skull.

"The explosion… Gaara and I jumped up, he got dressed and I leapt out the window and headed for the roof. Deidara from the Akatsuki was there I tried shooting him with my special arrows, but they weren't fast enough and they couldn't reach that high, I did see the bomb until it was too late. All I remember was flying through the air…" Amelia trailed off and the nurse sat by her side.

"Actually, Gaara reached the roof around the time you fired your last arrow, according to the ninja that investigated the scene. That one hit Deidara instead of his bird…thing…but he couldn't get to the explosive in time. You flew across the street and crashed into a brick wall with concrete backing and you haven't woken up sense." Amelia blinked letting the information sink into her brain.

"Gaara…what happened to Gaara?" Amelia searched the nurses face for some clue and the nurse bit her lip. It looked like she was having a war with herself, debating whether to tell Amelia or not. "Please…what happened to Gaara…" Amelia whimpered and the nurse caved.

"He was kidnapped by the Akatsuki, and knowing there reputation and recording to reports… he's dead." Amelia's eyes widened so far for a moment the nurse thought that they might fall out of there sockets. Then her irisis actually began to shake. She snapped her eyes shut, the nurse quickly began talking again as her heartbeat considerably slowed. "Konoha and Suna have sent several parties out to retrieve him, please don't fret, we have not given up hope. The nurse touched her shoulder and left the girl to think.

Tears leaked from Amelia as she broke down in sobs, she allowed no one entry and for several hours she let her mind mull over her hopelessness she had not only lost her best friend who she had once before died for, but she had also lost the boy she loved…wait loved? Her tears stopped when that thought drifted through her mind. It all began making sense of course she loved Gaara. In swift fluid movements she freed herself of all IV's and other wires. She stood up and ignored the pain in her right leg. She grabbed the tank top and baggy pants they left for her and swiftly put them on. She threw open her window and climbed out.

She limped across Suna ignoring the burning throb in her leg, she made her way to the outskirts of the town and stopped near the guards who knew her well. She collapsed near one and he helped her lean against the wall and from that spot she didn't move and she didn't make a sound.

For days she stayed there. One of the stationed guards pitied her and brought her a cane. Some would een bring her food or water which she would pick at, she didn't really do anything but stare out at the sand. When they tried talking to her she would respond with short quick answers, eventually they stopped trying, until…

"The Kazekage has been revived and is being brought back here by our allies from Konoha. With unsteady feet, Amelia stood up, using her cane she limped towards the messenger and without a word she smiled and he smiled back. Sooner then not, the entire town had crowded onto the walls of Suna and everyone waited. Over a sand dune came Gaara. Naruto and Kakashi helping him to walk.

Amelia abandoned her cane and ignored the aching protest of her right leg. She ran as fast as she could across the sand, vaguely she heard the townspeople screaming in the background, but her attention was focused on her red head. His sea green eyes focused on her and he moved his arms off of Naruto and Kakashi and with the little strength he had, he braced himself.

Amelia crashed into him, wrapping her arms around him as tight as she could, she buried her face into his chest and cried. Gaara crushed her to him just as tight. She picked up her head and buried it into his neck, trying to hold back her sobs. She whispered into his ear so low that no one but him could hear her.

"I thought I would never see you again. I love you Sabaku no Gaara." Gaara closed his eyes and lowered his head and nuzzled her cheek with his nose. As Baki reached them, he brought two medical ninjas with him. Amelia released Gaara and looked at the medical ninja that was swiftly approaching her. She shook her head no and snaked her arm around Gaara's waist.

"I will walk…with Gaara." She lookd up at him and smiled and Gaara did the same.


	15. Worry

Me and Gaara 4ever- Le gasp! That makes me laugh every time I hear it lol anyway thank you and I hope you enjoy this one!

Animestar001- This is an angst filled chapter! And I agree with you on the whole Gaara dies thing. People already know what happens to Gaara, they don't want to relive every little detail, and that goes for any part of the story. So I decided to make it quick. I am so sorry to hear about your Uncle. Last year on December sixteenth, my grandfather died after he had been in the hospital for over six months. I was extremely close to him and it hit me really hard, so I know what your going through and if you want someone to talk to I just want you to know you can talk to me. Other then that I hope your slowly but surely feeling better and I am truly sorry for your loss.

ANBU are sexy- Thank you! And here's the next update I hope you enjoy it!

SugarLandBabyGirl- That wasn't the end to the story silly! That was just kind of a filler chapter...anyway I hope you enjoy this one, thank you and enjoy!

Koori Youkai Hime- Thank you! I'm sorry I'm not coming out with these that fast, its just that my mom broke both her arms and so I type up somemore when I can so please forgive me if they aren't coming incredibly fast.

Akizu Miko-Celebrating the fact of a cane? Hahaha! That's funny...Imagining Amelia beating someone with a cane

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Amelia caught the piece of leather between her teeth and closed her eyes tightly. Quickly the doctor counted down from five and snapped the bone in her leg back into place. With a muffled scream of pain, Amelia left permanent teeth marks embedded into the leather. As the nurse wrapped her leg in a white cast, Amelia panted and tried to make the spots in her vision disappear.

They had succeeded in extracting the Shukaku from Gaara, that thought made Amelia whimper. The nurse paused in wrapping Amelia's leg, thinking that it was the pain causing her to whimper, but noticing the clouded and far off look in her eyes, she knew it was something else all together. She figured that she was worried about Gaara and decided to reassure her.

"Miss Amelia? The Kazekage-sama is right down the hall on the left. He is perfectly fine, just a little weak from the experience. The elders have agreed to give him a months leave as long as he does some of his work from home. If it will put your worries to rest, you may visit him as soon as I'm done." The nurse glanced up at her, but the worry in her eyes did not leave, if anything it increased and the nurse returned to her job with a soft sigh.

Amelia was terrified. Shukaku… she felt safe to say that the sand spirit had been her best friend, and she had lost him again…but this wasn't why she was terrified. The Shukaku had been her link to Gaara, she had been drawn to Gaara because of the Shukaku. Now that the demon was gone, what would happen to them? Would Gaara still want her to stay? Or would he want her to leave? Would he see her as someone who helped him control the Shukaku or someone who had befriended the beast and was just as much a monster as he had been.

"All done!" Amelia jumped slightly at the sound of the kind nurses voice. The nurse stood up, her back cracking into place as she smiled at Amelia. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Amelia shook her head no and the nurse turned to leave out the door. Amelia kicked her leg out and moved it around. Luckily the cast only went up to her knee so she could still bend her leg. Carefully she lowered herself off the table and limped to the doorway. As soon as she made it to the hallway, she was surrounded by Elders.

"Miss Amelia… The Kazekage is a stubborn man and we know he won't listen to us. Since he is in a weakened state, he will try extra hard to prove he isn't, we wish to give him a month off, with nothing but absolutely crucial paperwork to be sent his way. And seeing your dedication, despite your severely broken leg and the slim chance that he would return at all, we would appreciate it greatly if you personally would look after him and make sure he doesn't do anything to rash." It took Amelia a moment to process everything but when she had she offered the group a smile and nodded slowly.

"I will do my best and it will be my pleasure to look after him. But I know he is very independent so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't refer to him as a child… now if I may, I would like to visit him. I need to see with my own eyes that he is alright." She spoke softly and quietly. The older men could see the strain on her face, it was clear she needed rest almost as badly as Gaara did. Quickly they moved out of her way and let her pass without pressing the matter. She pathetically limped down the hallway, before disappearing into a room.

Amelia covered her mouth to keep the whimper from escaping her lips. Gaara lay on his back, his eyes were closed in a tired sleep, the rings around his eyes were more pronounced and his features looked sunken in. She remembered what Naruto had told her. How he had died, but the lady Chiyo had sacrificed herself to bring him back. He had died…he actually died and lived to tell about it…and it showed on his face. He looked worn and tired. His entire body was limp instead of hard with tension. He appeared to be in a state in which she had never seen him before…vulnerable.

Slowly she walked towards the edge of his bed and sat in the seat beside it. She placed her hand over his and stroked the top of his hand with her thumb, she rested her head beside his on the bed and closed her eyes. Water collected at the edge of her eyes and she let them fall. She didn't sob, she didn't whimper she just cried. With her one free hand she reached towards his face and brushed the hair out of his eyes. The muscles in his face twitched as she brushed the stray hair away.

The door opened and Amelia jumped. The nurses eyes went wide as her gaze fell on the crying woman but she quickly snapped out of it, a light blush covering the nurses face. She kept her head down as she walked over to the bedside table and set down a chart. She grabbed a few instruments, including a stethoscope and a few other things. She quickly checked his vitals and a few other things and only then did she get the courage to speak, and even then it was in a hushed whisper.

"I'm sorry…had to check his vitals." She mumbled as she left the room as swiftly and as quietly as possible. Amelia never acknowledged her presence, her attention was focused solely on Gaara. She continued o rub the back of his hand while her other hand ran through his hair. The nurse slowly grew accustomed to her there and was relieved when she had stopped crying. Despite the fact that Gaara wasn't in critical, and she shouldn't of been there past seven, neither the doctor nor the nurse had the heart to tell her to leave, and so she remained by his side all through the night.

Amelia ran her fingers through his dirty hair. He obviously hadn't bathed yet but that didn't bother Amelia, she in truth hadn't either. As they reached the end of a blood red lock, she let them continue downward, brushing his cheekbone and then softly trailing down the rest of his face to his chin, before she picked up her hand to run it through his hair once more.

Her eyes grew heavy as they darted to a clock across the room. It's blue numbers being the only glow in the entire room. Amelia almost sighed as she read 3:13. She moved closer to the sleeping Kage while the chair slid backwards slightly, and with her fingers gliding through his hair, one last time, her eyes fluttered close and her hand fell limp beside his head as Amelia's body finally gave out in exhaustion.


	16. A Gift

darkness engulfs me- Don't worry Gaara dosen't disown her...I fear your wrath too much lol hehe!

AnimeStar001-I'm glad you are feeling better! I felt really bad for you, having recently lost a very close relative I can sympathize. As for this chapter its still ery emotional and a little short but I liked the way it turned out. I am eager to see what you will say about it!

Akizu Miko-Why would I beat you with a cane? I love my reviewers lol silly girl! Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

SugarLandBabyGirl- Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

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This…this is what Gaara had missed. He tightened his hold on Amelia. Pulling her sleeping form tighter to his chest. She had rings around his eyes almost as dark as his own, when he had first woken up, he thought she was dead, laying limp beside him like she was. Without hesitation and acting on instinct alone, Gaara had pulled her in between his legs and wrapped his arms around her waist in a protective, yet possessive gesture. Shortly after Baki had arrived, he still remembered what he had said when he asked what had happened to Amelia.

"From the moment she woke up, after the fight with Deidara, she waited by the gates of Suna. She would only pick at her food and drink and she wouldn't sleep. Despite the dwindling hope of the rest of the village, she never left and I'm guessing she would of died there if you had not come back. There is no doubt in my mind, that she would of came after you if not for her badly broken leg… without you Gaara… there was no life within her. I haven't seen dedication that strong…ever." Not once had Gaara's former sensei lock eyes with him, he kept his eyes downcast on the frail girl that was caught in Gaara's hold. Her breath had been shallow and low, and he could feel her body shaking under the struggle. After a few more minutes, Baki had left and Gaara had tightened his hold on her.

Amelia's entire body felt soar. It was the very first thing she felt, from the moment she woke up. A soft groan left her lips and she attempted to stretch out her limbs. Something warm and solid was locked around her waist and tugged her backwards. She was pressed against something warm, and it moved slightly. She cracked pen her eyes to see a hospital bed and two legs wrapped in black pants, around her waist were strong arms covered in maroon material. The scent of some exotic desert plant reached her nose and her eyes widened. She tilted her head up. Deep sea green eyes locked with her own. They held a million emotions and not one was clear. Amelia was struggling to hold back her own tears. He was alive and he was getting better. She caught a whimper in her throat and couldn't stop herself.

She pressed her lips to his, her arms coiled around his neck and her fingers intertwined in his flaming red tresses. After a moment he began to kiss her back, his arms tightening even further so she would be pressed against him. Amelia pulled herself as close as she could to Gaara, the most minimal distance seemed like a million miles. Gaara tilted his head deepening the kiss, making it more emotional. After she had ran out of breath, Amelia pulled her lips away from his but left her forehead pressed against his. One hand continued to run through his red locks while she brought her other around towards his cheek, she ran her thumb along his cheekbone and along the bottom of the black ring surrounding his eye.

She fought back her tears and the whimpers that threatened to break free of her throat. Weakly she kissed him gently as if she was terrified that he would break if she touched him any harder. She moved to the corner of his mouth and then across his cheeks, leaving butterfly kisses, while her arms moved around his torso, holding him tightly in a locked hug. Gaara's arms slowly unwound themselves from her back. He gripped her upper arms tightly and held her back, he could see her eyes beginning to water.

"I was so scared Gaara… when my nurse told me that you were captured… I was so afraid. I thought I would never see you again… I couldn't loose you both at the same time… it hurt Gaara. More then any pain I can ever describe… I need you Gaara I always have…I love you." Tears ran down her face as she clutched his maroon attire and cried into his shoulder. She could feel the red head tense beneath her.

Gaara froze, stilled by her words. When he snapped back to reality, he didn't know what to do. Comfort was something foreign to him and he wasn't sure how to handle the situation. Slowly he acted on instinct alone, he lifted one of his hands and slowly ran it through her dark hair. He repeated the motion slowly and it seemed to have a calming effect on her. After her sobs had ceased, Gaara lifted her head with his hand, despite her weariness, and the tear tracks down her face, she still looked pretty to Gaara.

"I…I want to protect you." The sentence was simple but it held so much more meaning. A smile broke out across Amelia's face and her eyes sparkled lightly, she laid back down with her ear pressed against his chest, his strong and steady heartbeat filled her ears. Her fingers entangled themselves in the soft material of his clothes.

The door opened, snapping the tranquility of the room. Both eyes landed on Kankuro and Temari, followed by a large group of villagers, a few elders were present also. Amelia pushed herself up with slight difficulty while Gaara remained impassive.

"Kazekage-sama…Miss. Amelia…" An elderly woman stepped forward, in her hands were a bouquet of lillies. "We… came to say thank you on behalf of the entire village." She walked forward and handed the bouquet to Amelia. "These gifts aren't much but… Kazekage-sama, you saved the entire village and Amelia, you kept our faith in Gaara-sama alive." The entire group left various items and boxes in a neat stack in the room, each bowing there respect and exiting the hospital room.

Amelia and Gaara were both in stunned shock.

"Well little brother it looks like you've finally earned their respect."


	17. The Kitty Part 3

SugarLandBabyGirl- I try to keep Gaara as IC as possible so love is a foreign thing for him so I think it keeps him more in character if it takes awhile for him to fully understand the concept of love.

darkness engulfs me- You have no idea how hard I started laughing at your review. "Who cars about the Elders respect! Screw that! The kissing scene was hot!" I think I actually fell off my couch I was laughing so hard... It brought tears to me eyes. I had to throw in the all to special I love you scene and I tried to keep Gaara in character, I think I made him a little to mushy but...ehh...anyway this one dosen't have much Gaara in it but I wanted to put some humor back in it since the past three or four chapters have either been sad or depressing so... I bring in my favorite puppeteer!

AnBU are sexy- I'm glad you liked that chapter, personally I thought Gaara was a little out of character I think I made him a little to mushy.

Animestar001-Hahaha! It's no problem, I understand that people have lives outside of there computers I'm just happy that you review. Anyway this chapter I brought back some of the laughter and the smiles so its not as depressing. It does have a Gaara/ Amelia moment but its also got some of the happiness back to anyway I hope you like this chapter as well and I hope to read an update from you pretty soon!...Or a one-shot!

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Time passed quickly, much work was needed to repair and mend the village of its injuries after its latest trial. The villagers began to see both Amelia and Gaara in a new light. Gaara spent all of his time, catching up on paperwork and sending the ninja out on missions that had been neglected, or to help repair the village. If he wasn't working on paperwork, he was helping his people with rebuilding the city. Amelia busied herself with this task on a daily basis. She helped them rebuild buildings, stores and homes that had been destroyed during the fight. All in all they were working non-stop, since they were well enough to walk.

Amelia and Kankuro grunted as they lifted a large piece of concrete, a few villagers directed them where to place it, they held it in place as a couple more people sealed the piece in place. Amelia let out a breath of relief as she no longer had to support the weight. Kankuro walked over to her and plopped down in the sand beside her. He leaned his head on her shoulder and sighed, his breath came in ragged gasps, they had been doing this since early this morning it was now about three in the afternoon.

"Amelia, Kankuro would you like some lemonade?" The two looked up at the woman. They had helped repair her home a few hours earlier. Kankuro looked at Amelia, and Amelia looked at Kankuro. For a quick moment the two were silent, and the woman watched slightly confused. Suddenly they both scrabbled to there feet rather ungracefully.

"I saw it first!" Came Amelia's battlecry As she raced for the tray, she got there first and grabbed the bigger glass and bounced away. Kankuro immediately took chase after her and snatched it out of her hands and held it high in the air at a height where she couldn't reach. "Kankuro give it back!"

"No way! I am big and strong and need the energy!" He grabbed the slightly smaller glass and put it in Amelia's hands. "Plus you are small and insignificant and don't need as much liquid." With that he downed the big glass, and Amelia opened her mouth in fake shock. By this point the woman was in hysterical laughter as she watched the scene between the two. Amelia pretended to sniff like she was about to cry.

"I thought we had something special Kankuro and you have to be all mean and say something like that!" She pretended to sniff and choke back a sob and buried her face in her hands. Kankuro busted out in laughter and placed both, now empty glasses back on the womans tray and she walked away with them. Amelia attempted to look mad but failed miserably as she couldn't keep the playful smile off her face. "Fine then I'll just have to get…"

She cut herself off as the playfulness dropped like lead weights from her eyes and her face. Before she could stop it, the look of depression and sadness trailed across her face, Kankuro immediately felt sorry for her once he figured out what she was thinking about. He reached out to her but she had already turned away. She leaned back against the building and slid down the wall, pulling her knees up to her chest. Kankuro walked over and squatted beside her.

"I'm sorry Kankuro. It's just that… I'm not used to the feeling of loosing him again. I wish there was something I could do." Her eyes showed her sadness and even then, just barely, Kankuro knew her well enough to tell.

"Don't worry about the demon Amelia, he won't die, he'll find away to escape those loser Akatsuki, and I'm sure the first thing he'll do is come back to see you." Amelia laughed half-heartedly and made to rub her eyes, to get any water that was building within them out, she leaned into Kankuro and he pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks Kankuro. If it wasn't for you guys and Gaara…I don't know what I would do." Kankuro ruffled her hair and stood up, taking Crow off of his back. He set the puppet beside her and she looked at him confused.

"Take five minutes Amelia, Crow will protect you if any bad guys come." He laughed at his own joke as he walked to the next building to begin helping. Amelia laughed and tugged the wrapped puppet to her, grateful for something to hold. She took a few minutes to clear her mind and to enjoy the fresh air. She wiped her eyes one more time and bounced to her feet, slinging crow over her shoulder and heading towards Kankuro.

A loud booming noise was heard and her head shot in the direction of a house being rebuilt, a woman screamed and began racing towards it but a few ninja held her back. Amelia released Crow and let it fall to the floor, racing towards the woman at a blinding speed. The woman just pointed to the ruble after seeing the Suna headband tied lazily around her waist.

"My baby! My baby girl is in there!" Tears steamed down the womans face as Amelia nodded and disappeared leaving a slight breeze behind her. Slowly she removed pieces of plywood, being small and tiny her weight didn't add much, most of the other ninja could do nothing but watch, suddenly crow was beside her helping her move the pieces of wood. She would point to one and Kankuro would move it.

It was a painstakingly slow process and within a few minutes a crowd had gathered to watch as the middle Sabaku sibling and the girl who most still considered an outsider, worked together. Piece by piece, making sure not to cause a collapse. Suddenly the dark haired girl, disappeared through one of the holes in the destroyed mess. A few minutes ticked by, but Amelia returned with a small girl cradled in her arms. The woman ran forward, taking the child, tears of joy streaking down her drained face.

"Thank you both…so much. I don't know how I could ever repay you." Kankuro grinned obviously enjoying the attention, he rubbed the back of his head and reassured the woman that it was no big deal. The sun was beginning to set after there little misadventure and Kankuro sighed, utterly exhausted.

"I'm picturing myself running up the stairs, shredding my clothes as I go and then leaping onto my bed full of pillows and other soft and fluffy things to ease my aching muscles." Amelia groaned as she and Kankuro headed home. Kankuro was torn between laughing and drooling at the thought and Amelia smirked when she noticed this.

"And I'm picturing Gaara ripping my limbs from my body when he finds out that I was thinking of you half naked." Amelia actually laughed at that, she suddenly sped up her pace as she headed for there home. She disappeared inside, Kankuro shook his head and continued down the street towards his apartment, dragging his feet as he went.

True to her word, Amelia ripped off her tank top and managed to stumble out of her pants as she moved up the stairs, a bra and a pair of booty shorts was the only remaining material on her body, without even thinking twice, she turned and darted into Gaara's room, quickly being overwhelmed by his scent. It brought a smile to her face as she half jumped half laid on his bed… since when do beds move? Amelia blinked confused but before she could investigate the mystery…

"Hello Amelia." The oice was rough and deep, with just a slight hint of amusement. Calm collected and with little emotion, a voice that instantly relaxed her, without worrying or fretting over the fact that she was in fact laying on one of the strongest shinobi in all the lands, She nuzzled his bare chest with her cheek curled into a ball getting comfortable. Suddenly Gaara moved and she fell onto the cold bed and away from her warm companion, she shivered, and frowned opening her eyes to stare at the wall a few feet away.

An arm constricted her waist before she could register it was there, and she pulled tightly into his body. His scent and the constant dominate power that seemed to radiate off of him was both intimidating and relaxing at the same time. She could feel the strength of his muscles as they twitched against her back. His nose brushed the juncture of her neck and her shoulder, his warm breath moved slowly, teasingly over her skin.

"Mine?" It was a quiet whisper, barely audible, it was a question, but at the same time it held possessiveness. Amelia laced her fingers with the hand that held her in a vice-like grip.

"Yours."


	18. The Peace and Acceptance

Sugarlandbabygirl- Thank you! I wanted to show that she is depressed that the Shukaku is gone but on the same coin, she still loves Gaara.

Totally Not Pyro- You can't blame us authors for that one the stupid site wouldn't let us upload anything for about three days!

darkness engulfs me- With this story I wanted to make my OC bright and happy, but at the same time I wanted her to have the ability to be serious as well. As I said before the idea is roughly based off of King Kong so I shaped her personality on how someone might be if they were trapped on an island. The giddy, happiness comes from your own tropical paradise and the serious side comes from the survival instincts...make sense?

Gaaras1Girl- Hahaha! Thank you for such an entertaining review I appreciate it greatly!

Draven- Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed it! I like putting comedy and sadness mixed together because you have the happier side of the story vs the darker side of the story.

AnimeStar001- To me Gaara dosen't really seem like the type to be like 'Honey how was your day?' so in my stories I try to make him more...possessive because I see him as a more dominant figure, but I have to throw in his child adorableness every once in awhile lol. The lemonade scene was just fun to write, Kankuro is one of my favorite characters ( I think my top five are Gaara, Lee, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kankuro) and finally I have to say, originally I wasn't going to have the Shukaku extracted from Gaara, but so many people kept asking about it, I decided to have him extracted...however I have an idea in mind that might actually bring him back into the story since he is a major character here...however I'm not sure. Do you think that would be too extreme or no?

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The sun rose higher into the sky as it glared down at the curtains that were drawn tightly as if it could burn a hole straight through them. Other people slowly began filling the streets, but no matter how bright and beautiful the sun turned the earth, it just couldn't seem to get past the damn maroon curtains. So it turned its hot-red anger to the rest of the Earth.

Gaara opened his teal eyes to feel something warm pressed tightly to his skin. Dark hair outlined the body of the female that had tamed the Shukaku that once resided within him. He brushed the dark strands out of her face and gazed at her, she had explained everything of her past life, all the memories and many stories of her and the Shukaku… they puzzled him.

The Shukaku loved to play on weak minds and jumped at the opportunity to watch blood pour from a human. Whether they were a ninja, a blacksmith, or a baker, it mattered not to the blood-thirsty demon, so to hear about this playful untamed kind side to him, was unbelievable, and if Gaara hadn't seen it himself, he probably would of laughed if someone had told him the demon could be lovable. He leaned down next to the long-haired girl and nuzzled her neck softly with his nose.

Amelia awoke to feel something nipping at her skin along her neck. Her eyes fluttered open as an arm slid its way around her stomach, its hold tightening possessively around her middle and the nails biting briefly into her skin. She groaned and attempted to sit up, but failed miserably as the grip pulled her backwards. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of red hair and hot breath crept across her skin and teeth nipped directly below her neck.

"Mine…" Amelia shivered at the possessiveness in his voice. She was amazed at how easily this distant and darker boy could make her tremble and it scared it immensely. Slowly one of his legs draped over hers, it was like he was trying to protect her from anything that could possibly ever harm her, and her shield was his own body.

Amelia was in seventh heaven, his body coiled around her and his warmth seeped into her skin, if she died here she would be happy. His teeth nipped at her skin, sometimes soft and other times rougher, it sent shivers down her spine which Gaara seemed to love and his grip would tighten slightly every time she did it. His nips around to her collar bone, his body now had lowered onto hers, she took his weight with a slight discomfort but nothing she couldn't handle.

Absentminded he seemed to press kisses along her jaw line and down her neck. Amelia raised her hand and entangled her fingers in his fiery locks. A moan and a purr-like sound escaped the dangerous shinobi as her fingers massaged his scalp. His held fell forward and laid on her chest and his eyes fluttered close.

Suddenly the door to Gaara's room was flung open and Kankuro froze in a half-step. It was obvious that he had ruined a very personal moment. Kankuro however couldn't seem to bring himself to leave. The peaceful, protected look that had appeared on his brothers face just a few moments ago had stunned him into silence, Gaara never revealed any emotions.

As Gaara's eyes narrowed to small slits, anger beginning to bubble within him, Kankuro turned his attention to the archer, she seemed equally furious, but her face fell from an angry look to a mischievous one that had Kankuro recoiling. He knew that look well, it was the same one she gave him when they began their training.

"Gaara…" Her voice was light and slightly groggy, she was still trying to come out of her nirvana-like state. "Yesterday on the way home, your brother pictured me naked." Kankuro's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and ever-so-slowly his horrified gaze traveled to Gaara. It only took a brief glance before he took off, scrambling down the hallway like a mad man.

Gaara was on his feet in an instant, walking after him while the sand charged ahead, knocking the few pictures that were hung in the hallway, crashing to the floor, Amelia groaned missing her warmth and stood out of the bed, she grabbed one of Gaara's shirts and slipped it on over her head and trotted down the stairs after the two siblings. Kankuro was cowering behind Baki and Gaara looked furious. Gently she wrapped her fingers around Gaara's upper arm but before she could say a word, Baki spoke.

"It's good to see that you are awake Amelia I need you to come with me." Baki spoke quickly and without emotion. Gaara quickly grew defensive and his arm found its place on her waist and his narrowed gaze shifted to Baki.

"To what point and purpose?" His voice held anger but Amelia could hear the control within it. Baki folded his arms over his chest his gaze drifting to Amelia.

"The Elders wish to speak with her…why I know not." Gaara remained silent contemplating his words, but Amelia seemed to answer for him. Gently she pulled Gaara's arm off of him and gave the Kazekage a quick kiss on the cheek before walking over to the Jounin.

"Don't worry Gaara… once Baki and I leave you can have Kankuro all to yourself." Amelia winked the red head and he smirked and folded his arms over his chest as Amelia and Baki disappeared in a puff of smoke, when it cleared, Kankuro was sitting on the ground staring at where the two other ninja once stood, his eyes slowly drifted to Gaara who had murderous intentions in his eyes.

Baki left her in front of the wooden doors that led to the conference room, and left without a word. Amelia took a deep breath and quickly entered the room, shutting the door behind her, she was a little stunned to see that the only elder that was present that was the one that had fired Ryu. Amelia blinked her confusion.

"Miss Amelia…I'm glad you could make it. For awhile now I've been trying to get all the other elders to agree on this and once I got them to agree…well I'm afraid I couldn't wait to tell you so I apologize if I interrupted anything." The old man was truly honest in his statement and Amelia offered him a half smile. From his pocket he drew a half sheet of paper.

"What is that?" Amelia questioned quietly. The old man smiled and motioned her over Amelia trotted around the table and the old man stood up out of his chair.

"Not only have you helped reassure our villagers but you have also kept their morale up when Gaara had been kidnapped. Plus, even though you may not realize it, even Gaara seems a little bit calmer with you here… so as thanks for several of these things, I am proud to ask you if you would like to become an official Sunagakure ninja and citizen." He finished and pointed to the section that had every Elders name and all that was missing was Amelia's signature and the Kazekage's signature.

A wide smile spread across her face and happiness seemed to float off of her. Before the old man could react she swooped her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I don't know how I'll ever repay you!" She set him down and gasped. "I must go tell Gaara!" In a whirlwind of energy the elder watched her grab the papers and take off, he chuckled to himself as he watched her leave. A simple thought going through his head.

My Kazekage is a lucky man.


	19. Kisses and Cookies

Animestar001-So I have yet to decide whether or not to put the Shukaku back in here, I have a few ideas in case I do decide to put my favorite raccoon back in here but as of now, I haven't decided. As for Gaara, again I love the idea of him being possessive and protective. (One of the reasons why I freakin love your story) I try to incorporate humor because in the actual show, even in the most serious of situations, usually there is some kind of comedic humor. As for this chapter, it kind of shows that even though Gaara cares for Amelia he dosen't always show it openly...anyway I hope you enjoy it and I eagerly await your next chapter!

SugarLandBabyGirl- Thank you! I try my best to make a major fight or dramatic scene, and then drop back down to normal everyday life so problem after problem isn't just occuring day after day after day.

aquamarine-acaia- Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!

Draginfly51- Hahaha! Thank you! Actually this chapter lets you know how long he was in the hospital!

Gaaras1Girl- Ouch! I hope you didn't hurt yourself to bad and I hope you get better soon! Thank you for reviewing despite your injury, it's people's reviews that keep me writing!

LunaBell08-Wow...the best you've ever read? Really? I don't think it's that good thank you so very much I feel super honored! And actually you aren't the first to ask me to make a seperate story where she was on the island... I might make at least a one-shot for it...what do you think?

Akizu miko- Yep! I was actually typing the last chapter when I realized she hadn't really become a citizen yet so I figured i better make her one

Azura Soul Reaver- Thank you so very much and please enjoy!

Kida-of-the-Wolves- I've actually been debating for awhile whether to bring the Shukaku back or not, because he is a huge part of this story and without him Gaara would have never met Amelia, but at the same time I try to follow the storyline as best as possible. And yes very few stories even include the Shukaku at all and so I wanted to make him a major playing role in my story, the idea actually came from watching the movie King Kong lol

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Amelia huffed, glaring at the sun that hung above her head. She positively hated being out at this time of day but she had personally given herself a mission and she would be damned to see the sun try to stop her. She growled slightly and moved a little faster hoping to reach her destination sooner. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the hospital in the distance and she snickered quietly to herself. Kankuro had been in there for a week and two days…poor kitty.

The Kazekage's building came into her view and she picked up her pace. She pushed open the two sliding doors and sighed in relief as the cold air caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. Happily she trotted up the stairs to the top floor as she passed one of the assistants, the man looked up, smiled, and waved and Amelia smiled back. She reached the Kazekage's office door and knocked.

"Come in." His voice was so authoritive here, she had to bite back a smile every time she heard it. With her free hand she opened the door to his office. At the moment Gaara was looking down at a parchment. Amelia grinned and shut the door behind her. She trotted around his desk and waited patiently for him to finish. There was no point in trying to surprise him, with his keen senses he probably knew she was coming before the assistant outside did. Once he placed the parchment on the done stack, Amelia ducked under one of his arms and set herself on his lap.

Gaara grunted at the sudden weight and looked at the small female curiously; Amelia smiled and rested back against his shoulder. She set a small paper bag on his desk, and Gaara took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her small waist and pull her into his chest. For a moment he forgot where he was, it was no secret that the almighty Kazekage cared for Amelia and she rarely visited him during the office hours, not that he disapproved the she lifted his right hand from her waist and brought it gently to her lips. Slowly she placed soft butterfly kisses along his knuckles and across his skin. Gaara's eyes fluttered close, simply enjoying the pleasant interruption.

Amelia shifted until she was sitting sideways in his lap. Gaara's dark eyes blinked open and looked at her curiously as she smiled, she moved so her nose brushed against his as a sign of affection. Her arms coiled around his neck and her fingers buried themselves in his fiery locks. She brought his lips to her own, causing her Kazekage to let out a soft groan from the back of his throat as she moved away from his lips and gently kissed the corner of his mouth. Gaara's eyes fluttered close once more as her lips traced his cheekbones and then dropped down his jaw where her teeth caught his ear lobe. For a moment she remained still, her warm breath wafting across his neck sending chills down his spine. She placed one more affectionate kiss on him, before she pulled away.

"Happy birthday Gaara." She set her feet back on the ground and stood up giving him a sly smile as she walked over to the door and left without another word. Gaara blinked trying to get his mind out of the foggy haze. Once her words processed in his brain, he instinctively looked at the calendar on the wall…January 19th. He looked back at his desk the brown bag had a red bow tied around it and Gaara only remembered Amelia briefly holding it.

He undid the bow and opened the bag. His fingers felt two plastic containers; he pulled one of them out and opened it. A still warm chocolate chip cookie smothered in homemade icing had the red head smirking. As he pulled out the other container it was cold, and a note was attached to the side of it. He opened the lid and peered in seeing homemade mint chocolate ice cream. He pulled the folded piece of paper from the container. His eyes quickly identifying the flawless handwriting of Amelia.

Hahaha! My silly friend! I just knew you would grab the cookie first! I swear it's one of your gifts…the ability to detect a cookie from a mile away…plus Kitty will owe me twenty bucks! I homemade all this stuff myself so you don't have to worry about over-obsessive fan girls putting some kind of love toxin into them… and again I will apologize for Kankuro's stupidity over Christmas… Enjoy your birthday treat and if the elders are giving you any shit today just tell them to go screw themselves… it's your birthday and it's been awhile since I've gotten to duke it out with one of those old farts who couldn't make up their minds if it bit em' in the ass… Anyway enjoy your birthday treat and if you get home some what early I'll give you a massage. (My ability to massage was the reason the Shukaku used to claim he kept me around.) -Love Amelia.

Gaara could feel that happy emotion tugging at the corners of his mouth again. As he had his sand lock the door as he enjoyed a few moments peace with his delicious birthday treat.

Amelia shivered as she turned down an ally, a bad feeling twisted its way up her spine and chills raced through her body. She came out of the ally and not a soul stood out on the streets. Amelia tensed wrapping her arms around her middle. Her emerald eyes scanned the streets searching for any signs of life. Where had everyone gone? It was only four o clock… something must be wrong.

A cold wind swept through the street tossing her dark hair to the side and Amelia stopped walking, the cold wind wrapped its icy fingers around her flesh. She reached for her bow and arrows as the cold continued its dance across her skin, taunting her with its icy tongue. Amelia searched for any trace of chakra but she found none. Soft sand particles were carried in the icy wind and she could feel them caress her skin.

"Amelia…" Her name was so quiet; she feared the wind carried the fragmented sound. She could feel the grainy sand creeping along the back of her neck, like a course hand. "Amelia…" This time less angelic more rough, more deep. Amelia whirled around but there was no one there. Nothing but the chilling wind and empty sand streets. "Amelia…come back to me…" Suddenly she froze, recognizing the voice she knew all to well. Shock coursed through her body and her brain failed to register the bow slipping from her fingers. Her entire body shook as she tried to grasp at reality. "Amelia!" This was no whisper but an angry shout that vibrated through her ear drums and into her skull, echoing like a broken record.

"Shukaku!" Amelia jumped straight off the couch her green eyes scanning the living room in Gaara's mansion. Her breath came in ragged gasps and soon she came to realize that it was simply a dream, and nothing more. She would not see her demon again. She dug her fingers into her hair and let out a short scream, placing her emotions into her actions, Amelia needed to vent. She glanced at the clock to see it nearing eleven; she jumped to her feet only to hear the front door open.

The familiar scent that belonged solely to Gaara had her eagerly bounding to the front door. He was the perfect distraction to get her mind off of her demon. She found him swiftly and coiled her arms around his torso and buried her nose into his collar bone his overwhelming aura quickly calmed her abstract nerves as his arms wove around her waist holding her tight against him.

Amelia grinned and pulled away from one of the strongest ninja to ever walk the earth and coiled her fingers around his wrist. She pulled him from the doorway and up the stairs and into his own room. She turned around and grinned at the taller red head while his eyes remained impassive.

"I believe I promised the birthday boy a massage?" Her eyes were innocent and Gaara's eyes shut and his mouth twitched at the nickname. He felt her fingers moving across his chest, quickly unfastening the piece that held his gourd on his back, he watched her curiously as his maroon colored piece followed quickly behind, leaving him bare chested in front of her. Amelia had to focus really, really hard not to stare. Gently she grasped his wrist again and guided him over to the bed. "Lay down on your stomach… I won't bite" Slowly Gaara did as he was asked and Amelia climbed over him, with one leg on either side of him. She leaned down towards his ear and paused. "Well…unless you want me to."

Gaara shivered at what her words implied but a second later her dexterous fingers worked away at her shoulder muscles, making small circles and slowly moving down the expanse of his back, and then back up again. She added pressure in all the right places and slowly the tension and stress that had accumulated over the years slowly eased away. Gaara's energy seemed to slip and for the first time, he was truly vulnerable, in a state so relaxed that if the girl had wanted to kill him it would have been an easy task. However Gaara knew the small girl cared far to much about him to do such a thing, unlike him, Amelia had a tendency to express her emotions openly, where as he remained guarded at all times.

As he drifted into a deep, relaxed sleep, the last thing he felt was her hands trailing down his spine and her lips on his right shoulder.


	20. Lair Of The Beast

Snowy-ninja- Alright so... this chapter is kind of a big plot point so I'm really curious as to what feedback will be... thank you for reviewing and if you have time please review this chapter and tell me what you think...thank you!

ProfilingXCSIXMyXCareer- Hahaha! thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reviewing!

Gaara-frenzy- What will happen with the Shukaku? Will we ever find out? Le gasp we find out in this chapter so please enjoy!

Gaaras1Girl- Thank you so very much and now I hope your back feels better... I fell off my trampoline a few days ago and bruised three of my ribs so trust me your not alone I too am a master at being a klutz :)

honto mendokuse- Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it and please enjoy!

SugarLandBabyGirl- Thank you very much I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, this one is a big turning point so I hope you enjoy it!

Black Claided Cat- I know right? I would be happy with someone just saying happy birthday... much less be given a cookie or some ice cream...or a massage, but anyway I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and thank you very much for reviewing!

LunaBell09- I am going to do a one-shot depicting Amelia and the Shukaku's relationship, but I have to think up a storyline for it, because I want to show how deep there connection is, yet at the same time keep the humore that this story possess... what do you think?

Azura Soul Reaver- Yaya go Gaara! Even though the lucky bastard got a massage... I want a massage... anyway thank you for reviewing and please enjoy!

AnimeStar001- I wanted to include some humore and some fun in the last chapter because this one is a lot more serious. Hint hint wink wink nudge nudge...lol. As for thewhole fangirl putting something in his food, that's just me trying to add some extra humor in there, I needed to have Amelia spend a lot of time with Gaara because of the twist this chapter throws into the plot, and actually yes the kiss on his shoulder was supposed to give you the vibe of the goodnight kiss so good job on picking up on that...anyway thank you for the amazing review, (That you always leave me and I love) and please tell me what you think of this chapter if you have time!

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"Amelia…" The emerald eyed girl whirled around, her eyes scanning the never-ending sea of sand, but all remained still she was the only sign of life on this barren plane, but the whispers of her name brushed her skin. "Amelia…Amelia…" They overlapped each other as if thousands of voices were speaking to her at once and she just couldn't pin point them. She whipped around and the voices only grew louder and more persistant while the sea of sand remained empty and barren of life. With one last whisper sounding behind her, they all vanished and an eerie silence took there place. The wind whistled low and carried tiny particles of sand on it's fingers. Amelia turned around and came eye to eye with flickering golden orbs. She gasped and almost fell backwards. "Amelia… you have forgotten me."

Amelia bolted straight out of her dream, the darkness of Gaara's bedroom quickly snapping her back to reality. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she clutched her hair. It was the second dream she had had about her best friend… but what did it mean? Was it real? Or was her mind just playing harsh tricks on her? She let her hands fall from her hair to her lap as her hair curtained her face. Guilt clouded her being. Was he asking for her help? Was he trapped somewhere?… Could she truly leave Gaara to find him?

In the dark confines of the large room, Amelia allowed her tears to fall freely down her face. Even if the sand spirit needed her, where would she find him? How would she get there?… And how could she be like so many others… so many others who had abandoned Gaara? Simple she couldn't. She sucked in a shaking breath and let out a single quiet sob, before she scolded herself and stopped her tears. She buried her face in her fingers and breathed for a moment, wanting to clear her thoughts, before she attempted to fall back asleep. Her hands fell from her face to her lap and she looked down, her hair falling forward.

Gently, so as to not startle her, dexterous fingers turned her head to the side and her emerald eyes locked with sleepy aquamarines. His eyes saw every emotion she was feeling he could see the sadness and frustration all Gaara knew was he wanted the look gone from her face. His chest hurt to see her distressed. Gently he pressed his forehead to her own. His eyes taking on there own sad quality.

"Do I make you…unhappy?" His voice was no more than a ghost of a whisper across her lips and Amelia's eyes widened, shock momentarily overriding her sadness, she opened and shut her mouth once before shutting it again. The sadness in his eyes deepened and Amelia tilted her head slightly and pressed her lips to his. He remained tense against her, before slowly relaxing and kissing her back. She poured her love for him into her kiss and he kissed her back with equal emotion, and after a minute, she slowly pulled away, her forehead still resting on his. She brought her hand up to his cheek, running a finger on the edges of the dark rings that chained his eyes.

'No Gaara you don't make me unhappy." Gently she pushed him back down onto the ridiculously comfortable mattress and nuzzled the side of her face into his chest. One of her arms rested on his stomach. Gaara threaded his fingers through her long dark hair and stilled. He didn't push why she was crying and for that Amelia was grateful. Gaara gave off a slight purr-like sound as he saw her smile and it made Amelia just a little bit happier as she closed her eyes and rejoined Gaara in a blissful sleep.

Her dreams were filled with memories of the luscious Caribbean Island that she and the Shukaku once lived in harmony and peace on, running through the forests, playing a futile game of hide and seek with the massive creature. Spending listening to the stories of his old days and in turn he listened to her speak of festivals and how much the human race had shifted over time.

When Amelia awoke next she was alone, she knew that Gaara had gone to perform his duties as Kazekage. Amelia stood and rose from the bed, the rings from her eyes getting worse, what did all these dreams mean? Amelia got dressed and headed outside, deciding to go for a walk to clear her head.

She shoved her hands in her pockets letting the morning breeze keep her cool, it was still fairly early so shop keepers were cleaning there shops for the days crowd and some dedicated ninja were already training or preparing to leave for a mission. Amelia sighed and suddenly she felt a tug on her wrist. She stopped and turned, a long thin line of sand floated in the air and coiled around her wrist where it gently tugged. Amelia narrowed her eyes and took a step towards it. The tugging stopped and stilled, but a few seconds later it tugged on her wrist once more and then left her floating towards an ally. Amelia glanced around, trying to find someone who was manipulating it, yet there was no one, and so she followed it.

The small train of sand twisted and turned elegantly through the air as it winded it's way through the streets of Suna and Amelia was mesmorized, it was like a moth to flame. When the sand reached the wall of Suna it paused in the air, before the wall itself bent and moved, allowing a big enough hole for Amelia to squeeze through. The mess of sand twirled elegantly through it and Amelia bit her bottom lip and followed it.

For seemingly hours she followed the snake-like trail of sand, it was slightly darker than any of the desert sand and that made her curious. It stopped as it neared a small sand dune and Amelia frowned. There was nothing here, just sand and a few desert plants. A chunk of the sand dune suddenly lifted free, revealing two great ivory doors and Amelia blinked.

The trail of sand tapped the door and they opened with a loud groan and remained still and the sand disappeared inside. Amelia glanced behind her and quickly ducked into the darkened hallway. The walls were lit up quickly with intense flames, beautiful drawings and paintings covered the walls, most caused Amelia to gasp. There were drawings and elaborate gorgeous paintings…of her. Some had the feared demon Shukaku within them, but most were just her and Amelia felt like crying.

There were many hallways that branched off the main one and she guessed that this underground passage went on for miles beneath the sand, but the long elegant piece of sand led her on, until she reached a gigantic room. The walls were covered in paintings from her and the Shukaku's days on the island everything was perfect down to the last detail.

The fluttering of wings caught her attention, blue butterflies, the likes of which she had never seen fluttered past her, there wings glowing a beautiful blue. One landed on the wall and Amelia reached out to touch it, the butterfly flew away at the last second and her hand made contact with the stone cold wall. Something sharply cut into her hand and she hissed, her hand was covered in blood, blood that seeped down the cracks in the wall and then shot out to all sides of the room, filling in every single crack, covering all the elegant paintings on the wall in a dark red color.

The ground beneath her began to shake and thousands of the strange glowing butterflies came from seemingly no where, they flew around her brushing around her body, she could hear the beats of there wings all working as one, as they buzzed around her until all she could see was the glowing of there wings. She was suddenly air bourne, whether she was falling or flying she could not tell.

The next thing she knew, she was slammed against the sand. Amelia groaned as she struggled to her feet, trying to regain her equilibrium. Once she stumbled to her feet she looked around. There were no ivory doors, no long trails of sand… Had this all been a dream too? She glanced down at the slice across her palm, it was still bloody. She wanted to scream out of her own frustration, and she would of if not for the feel of sand coiling around her waist and lifting her straight into the she gasped and looked down, the thick sand that held her had a long purple stripe on it.

When she was set down, she was several hundred feet in the air and stumbling on the snout of the Shukaku. Tears raced down her face and a huge smile crossed her features, she lunged forwardand stretched her arms out as far as they could go on his snout. She laughed the sound spilling from her lips as she could not contain her joy at seeing the oversized raccoon.

"…Stupid Girl…did you venture out here all by myself? How the hell did you even find my home? My followers buried it deep, you are the first to find it." He trailed off and lifted her once more, extending her hand so he could see the nice sized wound. Gently he licked at it the healing agent in his saliva healing her instantly, and he sat her back on his snout. "You set me free? Stupid girl…I could wreak havoc on every town from here to Sound and there would be nothing you could do to stop me." His loud bellowing laugh echoed through the desert, but Amelia just smiled unafraid.

"You could…but then you wouldn't be with me." The golden eyes of her best friend softened before they closed and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground and a heavy weight rested on her shoulder. A miniature version of the Shukaku sat crouched on her shoulder. His tail swished back and forth, hitting her hair.

"Well go on start walkin' we ain't getting anywhere just standing here…" He trailed off and with her hand Amelia stiffled her giggle as she began her journey back to Suna. "…Stupid girl."


	21. Amelia Moment

Azura Soul Reaver- Alright so angst is over time for more humor! Yay!

Gaara-Frenzy- Well Amelia has her own way of getting the Shukaku into Suna... and of course the demon and her bicker.

SugarLandBabyGirl- Yes the Shukaku is back I did decide to bring him back, because he's a fun charactor to play with and not many people do and a lot of people asked for me to bring him back.

LunaBell09-Hahaha! Well I go for people being intrigued in my story so thank you very much and enjoy!

aquamarine-acaia- Your not the only one who is happy that the Shukaku's back!

3- First of all I hope I got your pen name right if not I am very sorry! Second Thank you for the review and the idea for this story came from the movie King Kong and how the beast fell in love with the woman and so I just took the concept and altered it to fit Shukaku!

koodori-mayonaka-hana- Wow! So many questions! She was just simply reincarnated a couple of hundred years later there wasn't any spell of jutsu done, and I have about seven or eight stories in progres and so my rule is I have to update each one once before I'll go back and update a story again. So updates can be anywhere from a week to a month... it just depends on how busy I am.

Black Claided Cat- Yay! Shukaku is officially back!

AnimeStar001- Since it was just recent that Gaara and The Shukaku were both taken and then Gaara was reincarnated, I didn't want something bad happening right after another so I wanted to give Amelia something good! As for the Shukaku, I figured since he is made of sand, why can't he shrink if he wants? And yes I have to include the stupid girl.... and finally as you have told me with your, amazing, story you will have to wait and see what will happen after Gaara meets the Shukaku in person.

ProfilingXCSIxMyXCareer- Thank you very much I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Snowy-Ninja- I am a diagnosed insomniac so I feel your pain trust me. The Shukaku and Amelia do have a very odd relationship, but I like that about them...but anyway I hope your collage work gets easier and good luck!

Reiko Ninjata- Thank you very very much! Please enjoy!

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As she approached the hole in the wall that was barely two feet, she let the Shukaku go first with her following behind, unfortunately this gave the demon a nice view of her breasts and the demon opened his mouth to make a crude comment but Amelia had already clamped her hand over his mouth causing the golden orbs to flicker and narrow angrily. This only caused Amelia to smile and scoop him up, squishing him into her chest… the demon couldn't complain.

Amelia stuck to the shadows using stealth to sneak the Shukaku through Suna. Every once in awhile Shukaku would make a cliché spy movie sound which would cause the beautiful girl to roll her eyes and snort quietly. When the large mansion came into her view she made a run for it, she bounded over a few hedges and disappeared into the confines of the house. The Shukaku jumped from her arms and shook out his coat.

He had barely touched the floor when Amelia scooped him up and hugged him tight a grumble escaped the sand spirits lips as she waltzed across the room, laughing and smiling the entire time as a rush of giddiness shot through her, eventually she lost her balance and fell. She landed on the soft carpet with a dull thud, laughing all the while, the Shukaku, however, was content to curl up on her stomach and close his eyes.

Amelia's eyes glittered with happiness as she flipped on the TV and made herself comfortable and sooner than not the Shukaku fell asleep curled into a ball. Amelia felt at peace now. The torn part of her soul had been stitched backed together since she saw the Shukaku and the feeling of contentment creeped into her soul.

The phone ringing caused her to jump and the demon to whine his complaint. Amelia practically skipped from the couch to get the phone. Briefly she heard the Shukaku grumble something about too energetic and stupid girl but she just smile and hit the talk button.

"Death speaking state your illness." She spoke cheerfully into the phone and the Shukaku lifted his head, a grin crossing his face as his tail waved lazily behind him. There was a pause on the other end before loud laughter echoed through the phone.

"Alright um death I'm calling about my sister who has the disease of rage and abuses the power of her insanely large fan…is there anything you can do?" Kankuro's familiar voice was laced with laughter and sarcasm and had Amelia cracking up.

"Well lets see…I'm afraid she's not booked for another few years, and unfortunately I've got no cure for that particular illness, I apologize for the inconvenience." She tried and failed miserably to suppress her laughter, and she heard struggling on the other end of the line, and she frowned.

"Amelia?" Instantly she brightened at the sound of Gaara's rough voice. Vaguely she heard Kankuro in the background yelling something about how he called her not Gaara.

"Gaara! Aren't you at work? Is the apocalypse coming because the elders gave you a day off of work?" Amelia grinned and heard a low chuckle escape the other end. She heard a thump behind her and watched the Shukaku lazily walk towards her.

"Well…it's Temari's birthday." Gaara heard silence from the other end of the line for a good two minutes before Amelia seemed to come back to earth.

"It's what?! Crap! I'll see you when you get here handsome I got to go make Temi a cake before she gets here! Love you bye!" Amelia quickly scampered to the kitchen, grabbing the Shukaku on the way. She placed him on the counter and he watched with hungry eyes as she started throwing stuff together to make the batter.

Gaara had been given the day off to celebrate his sisters birthday and he suspected Amelia would panic and leap into a cooking frenzy, and Kankuro was all to excited to get to her food. When they reached the front door, they heard Amelia's voice yelling that sounded like 'bastard' and 'get back here'. The two brothers exchanged glances before Gaara walked forward and into the house what they saw next stunned them both.

A dog sized Shukaku streaked around the corner with a bowl of batter being held up by his tail. Amelia followed hot on his heels wearing a tank top and some shorts and a butcher knife in hands. The Shukaku lunged over the couch, but the grip his tail had on the bowl slipped and it landed face down on the top of the Shukaku's head, successfully knocking him on his ass.

"I've changed my mind…you can have that one I'll go make a new one." Amelia tried really, really hard not to laugh, and failed miserably. Slowly she walked towards him and kneeled beside him pulling the bowl from his head. White cake batter covered his head and shoulders, and the Shukaku was attempting to lick the batter off of his face.

"Um…Gaara why is there a demon in your living room?" Kankuro's voice caught her attention, and she jumped up and spun around. Her emerald eyes quickly saught out her favorite ninja, ignoring Kankuro completely and focusing on her red head.

"Gaara!" She bounded across the living room and coiled her arms around Gaara, burying her face into his shoulder, his scent instantly filled her nose and she smiled squeezing him just a little bit tighter. She felt him hug her briefly before he pulled her back by her shoulders and locked eyes with her.

Amelia…why is the Shukaku in the living room?" Gaara spoke calmly and a blush rose onto Amelia's eeks and she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, but Gaara kept on her waiting for an explanation.

"Well…uh… I had this dream and he kept saying that I forgot him…and so this morning I went for a walk to clear my head and a trail of floating sand kind of showed me the way to his old fortress beneath the sand and I think I maybe sort of caved it in…and the next thing I knew the it over there was staring at me." She explained quickly as a snort rose from the demon.

"What did you call me? Ya stupid girl." The Shukaku retorted from the living room, while Amelia rounded on him, her emerald eyes narrowing in a glare and she put her hands on her hips. The demon just grinned as he walked forward, his fur now matted with cake batter.

"Did you stop licking the batter off your ass to insult me? Wow! I feel so flattered." Came the sarcastic reply from Amelia. The Shukaku's jaw dropped and Kankuro hit the floor clutching his gut as Gaara simply hung his head, trying to hide the apparent smile that graced his face as small chuckles escaped his throat.

Another perfect Amelia Moment.


	22. Lucky

SugarLandBabyGirl- So this one is kind of a cliffhanger but thank you for the review and enjoy!

Azura Soul Reaver- Poor Shukaku I'm always picking on him, this chapter included!

LunaBell08-Hahaha! Thank you very much and please enjoy!

Jen- I don't know how often I'll be able to update here, I'm at my moms and I have to be in her room to get internet.

BlackBaccaraRose- Thank you very much! Out of curiosity how did you come up with your screen name?

Darkemberz- Well my two favorite genre's are horror and humor so I try to iclude them both in anything I write. I'm glad you like this story and thank you for the review and I hope you like this chapter as well!

Reiko Ninjato- I get writers block all the time, and its especially hard for you because your not only having to work with the Shukaku but also my character so totally understandable!

Snowy-ninja-Out of my Naruto stories Amelia is by far my favorite, simply because shes so fun to play with. I created Amelia to be very high spirited and unpredictable and thats how I write the story, whatever seems right at the time I do, and thats how I keep her from being to Mary Sue. Anyway thank you for the review and please enjoy!

Black Claided Cat- Yes the Shukaku is back and Amelia and the demon still have the love-hate relationship so good pick-up there, I brought him back for a number of reasons but yes he will make appearences through out the story!

ProfilingXCSIXMyXCareer- Hahaha! I'm glad you find this story humorous!

Gaara-Frenzy-Yes Kankuro is a fun character to play with as well just because o his mouth, thats why I'm always picking on him to! Thank you for the review and enjoy!

Me and Gaara 4ever- Yes a doggy sized Shukaku is very cute and lovable, just be careful of the sand he controls!

AnimeStar001- Yes Shukaku will make appearances frequently through the rest of this story and yes I did just tell you to wait and see! Later on there will be bigger reactions between Shukaku and Gaara, but for now Amelia wants to... reward Gaara. As for Shukaku and Amelia, the demon posessed a love hate relationship with the girl, obviously and I wanted to keep the humorous aspect of my story there...did I miss anything? O right... the phone scene was probablly one of my favorite scenes to write of all time, it was very fun! Anyway thank you for leaving such a long review and I really hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Gaara permitted the Shukaku to stay as long as he behaved himself and mainly stayed at the mansion. He had complied with Gaara's wish and currently his greatest offense was walking in on Amelia while she was coming out of the shower, but Gaara never got the chance to exact revenge, simply because he was to busy trying to subdue Amelia who had been hell bent and determined to skin him with a butcher knife.

In other words things had returned to normal in the Sabaku household. Currently Amelia was dedicating her time away from the Shukaku to pester the elders for giving Gaara to much work… they were always suckers for her puppy dog eyes, and she worked them well. Within a few moments of pouts and big eyes, suddenly they were willing to take Gaara's paperwork, leaving Amelia to skip down the hallway and out of sight.

Amelia quickly darted into the Kazekage's office, causing tired aquamarines to look up at her; they brightened considerably at the sight of Amelia. She smiled and moved around his desk, sitting perfectly in his lap and nuzzling her face into his collarbones as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She playfully licked his exposed skin and Gaara smiled slightly and chuckled at her playfulness.

Amelia adored the red headed Kazekage and often spent her afternoons in his presence or on his lap. She couldn't seem to get enough of him and she never grew tired of him, in fact her favorite part of the day was the time spent curled up on him and she cherished every moment of it. He pulled her back and locked eyes with her emerald greens which smiled happily at him.

"What are you doing here this early?" Gaara spoke softly and Amelia scowled and it took every once of control Gaara possessed to control the muscles in his face to keep a smile from his face, especially since she pouted and shifted her body until she was leaning back against his chest.

"Hmph… those stupid old fart elders of yours give you so much work! It's no wonder you've got insomnia and those damn bastards still blame the Shukaku. I wish I could give those washed up turds a piece of my mind." She grumbled beneath her breath and Gaara closed his eyes, only letting himself smile when he had hidden his face in the nape of her neck, her scent calming his frayed and tired nerves, almost unconsciously he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You know I won't be able to leave for at least another six hours or more." He breathed onto her skin, smirking when he felt her tremble. He could hear the deep mischievous chuckle almost before she made it. She turned around on his lap so she was straddling his waist, her nose barely touching his.

"That's why I went and gave them my big puppy dog eyes and got them to actually do there paperwork… they're a sucker for my puppy dog eyes you know." Amelia grinned as she spoke and she watched his eyes widen for just a moment before they narrowed slightly and he growled, a sound that sent shivers racing down her spine.

"You…" He paused and leaned back slightly to tap her nose with his finger. "Are going to get me in trouble. They hate doing paperwork as much as I do and that means they'll be bitchy tomorrow." If he was going to say anymore he was silenced as Amelia quickly kissed the corner of his mouth, grinning like a thief.

"Yes but I'm going through a Gaara withdraw, and they are working you into the ground… besides Kankuro cannot pass for a sexy red head… I even bought him a wig and still nothing, so that's why I've got a very special weekend planned for you." She copied him and touched his nose and got off of his lap, only to be tugged back rather forcefully.

"O ya? And what would make you think I would go anywhere with you Amelia?" He dragged the syllables out of her name and gently nipped at the skin on her neck, Amelia almost forgot the question, it amazed her at how simple it was for him to render her speechless, but she managed to regain herself, and used chakra to speed away from his distracting embrace.

"Well for starters you get to leave the elders for three days, and your perverted brother is staying behind…and you get to spend the entire time with me, not even the Shukaku is going." With that, she disappeared out the door and trotted down the stairs.

When she got home she threw her necessities into a bag and bit her finger trying to remember if there was anything she forgot. She was so concentrated on what she was doing, she didn't hear Kankuro come in the room and didn't realize he was there until he spoke.

"Even though he will never admit it, this trip will probably be the most fun thing he's ever done in his entire life… he really cares about you Amelia." Kankuro watched as she jumped and spun to face him, her eyes softened at his claim. "And…uh… I'm not really good with this kind of stuff but uh… ever since you came around, he's been so much calmer and so much kinder that, I can't even begin to tell you of the impact you've had on him… and uh… I don't think he could function anymore if you ever left." Kankuro leaned in the doorway in a casual stance but his eyes were deadly serious.

"Kankuro… why would I ever leave, I love this place and I love Gaara you know that." She set down the small bag she was holding and Kankuro closed his eyes and nodded, slowly walking into the room. Amelia stared at him perplexed as he stopped in front of her and locked her gaze.

"And whenever he proposes and you two get married…because trust me you…uh… will. There is no doubt in my mind that with you at his side Gaara will become the greatest Kazekage to ever and will ever rule the sand… and for that, I thank you." Kankuro's chocolate orbs held the utmost seriousness and Amelia began to tear up, she quickly wrapped her arms around Kankuro and buried her face in his shoulder and he gently hugged her back.

"You don't have to thank me Kankuro; you guys are like my family always will be." Came the muffled reply from the island girl. For a moment the two remained still, that is until it was crudely broken.

"Ugh… stupid girl are you down with your sappy pms moment? A split second later a high heel had implanted itself in the sand spirits face, followed by a loud thump and Kankuro left the room with a smile on his face and as he passed the twitching sand spirit, he realized how lucky Gaara really was.


	23. Trust

Azura Soul Reaver- Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!

Snowy-ninja- I'm planning to have there vacation be kind of a turning point in the story, where Gaara really sees how much Amelia means to him.

Gaara-Frenzy- Yes Shukaku was head in the head with a shoe... the poor dear.

Reiko Ninjato- Summer lessons? What are you taking? I'm (attempting and failing) to learn Italian.

AnimeStar001- Yes I wanted to put a twist on the story so I thought of this vacation and her, of course, being starved from lack of Gaara contact, plus she wanted to give him a reward for letting the demon stay with her! As for Kankuro he dosen't seem like a big softy so I wanted to keep him as in character as possible! And of course as you know I love to include little bits and pieces of humor here and there so the image of Kankuro in a red wig just had me busting up so I had to put it in there as soon as I thought it up! Thank you as always for still continuing to review this story and I'm eagerly waiting for your next chapter... I brought along my impaling stick! Er... I mean my love stick!

I. Murdered. Tinkerbell- Hahaha! Thank you very much! This story is one of my favorites so I'm very glad you liked it and please enjoy!

Black Claided Cat- Well Shukaku still is a demon so of course he has to ruin a sappy moment between...well anyone!

Me and Gaara 4ever- Yep Amelia goes through Gaara withdrawls...its a very contagious disease...be careful you don't catch it! Amelia is by far my favorite OC, she is very fun to play with just because I created her to be happy, innocent, and slightly high-strung lol

* * *

As Gaara walked through the front door, he was met with a rather pissed off Amelia who at the moment was hung upside down from the ceiling by a long chunk of sand, while Shukaku was no where to be found, Kankuro was attempting to cut her down, he succeeded and Amelia crashed to the floor. Kankuro winced from his spot on the ceiling and leapt down on the carpet

"Sorry Amelia" Crow was draped over his back and Amelia growled, jumping up to her feet.

"Oh when I get my hands on that no good flea bag raccoon I'll…" She paused, only then noticing Gaara from across the room, and her irritation was quickly replaced by happiness. "Gaara!" She bounded across the floor like an over excited puppy and hugged the red head, who said nothing but hugged her back, he didn't want to know what she and the Shukaku had done.

Amelia laughed and released him. Before darting up the stairs to get the small supply of things they would need, she darted back down the stairs and waited impatiently for Gaara to return in more comfortable clothes, he returned in his typical maroon attire, but Amelia still beamed up at him as he came down the stairs. She opened her mouth to speak when the ringing of the doorbell echoed through the house. Amelia smiled even bigger and flung open the door.

"Yo." Shikamaru spoke, looking bored beside Temari. Amelia squealed and hugged both of her friends tightly. Temari laughed at her enthusiasum and even Shikamaru chuckled and patted her back.

"Thank you guys so much for looking out for Suna while were gone! I've been planning this for so long! I'm so excited!" Amelia didn't actually have to say she was excited, it was clear just by the way she wouldn't sit still. Temari was just excited to be back in Suna for a few days.

"Well what are you waiting for? You aren't getting anywhere fast sitting around here talking to us. Be gone! The both of you!" She made a shooing motion with her hands and Amelia laughed and tugged on her backpack, Gaara simply watched confused, but when Amelia grabbed his hand and pulled him outside, he realized he wasn't getting questions answered unless Amelia did it herself.

The normally talkative female was absolutely silent the entire way through Suna. She held his hand and led him through it's familiar streets, after the third time of asking where they were going and getting no response from Amelia what-so-ever the infamous Kazekage just gave up. She waited until they were about a mile out of Suna before she turned to face him. She coiled her fingers in the cloth covering his upper arms and stared him directly in the eyes. Her face had momentarily been clean of excitement and now, only showed complete seriousness.

"Do you trust me?" This wasn't one of those questions where at the playground kids would say trust me, and then they would fall backwards and be caught…and occasionally dropped, no this was a question where if he was in a life or death situation, did he trust Amelia enough to save him. Trust had always been one of Gaara's problems and it was mainly thanks to Yashamaru and so for several minutes they simply stood, him gazing into her emerald pools and her into his aquamarines.

"Yes, I trust you and only you." His raspy voice finally responded to her lighter one and immediately a smile replaced the serious expression, and as if she knew it was hard for him to say that, she hugged him tightly.

"Well then, let's start our vacation, I have much to show you and little time to do it in! Just so you know we'll be gone a week." With that Amelia turned around and began trotting through the desert, with Gaara following along, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of danger, and not surprising him, Amelia began to talk. "I've been planning this for months… I wanted to go somewhere that you wouldn't have to be constantly on guard, but at the same time I didn't want you being mauled by the fan girls again… they are a scary bunch… and then it hit me, I'm taking you to the most perfect place."

She seemed to fall into a daydream after that, a lazy smile crossing her face as the desert sun beat down on the two of them. Gaara didn't know where she was taking him, if she were any other person, be it Naruto or one of his old siblings, he wouldn't of done it, but for her, he did it without hesitation simply because she held both his trust and his heart and he knew if he wasn't killed in battle, he would die when she did. He knew he couldn't function without her. They traveled for seven hours before they reached the beach…wait the beach?

"Hoji?" Amelia chimed at an old shack that looked a little worse for wear, after a moment an old man came stumbling out, shielding his wrinkled eyes from the sun. "Hoji!" Amelia trotted towards him as he walked towards them.

"Why I'll be…is that you Amelia? Why I haven't seen you in years! How have you been?!" She embraced the old man and laughed quietly as he embraced her back, Gaara stood patiently, Amelia would not leave him standing. "Who is that fine gentlemen you have brought along with you?" The old mans withered eyes noticed Gaara quickly, but Gaara's mere prescence demanded attention.

"This is my very best friend Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage of the Land of Wind." She spoke his entire with respect and exuberance, before she turned back to the old man and smiled, he looked at her confused to why she would show up here, and only now did she seem to grow nervous. "And uh… I want to show him my old home." She looked down as if she were ashamed of her request but the old man laughed so hard he almost fell over.

"Amelia! Amelia! Amelia! What am I going to do with you girl! You think an old sea dog like me would deny any request to take the boat out?! Of course I'll take you home silly girl! Just give me a moment to go get my things and I'll be out in a few minutes!" If Amelia had been a dog, Gaara assumed that she would be running in circles, attempting to calm some of her excitement, but instead she just fidgeted uncontrollably.

Gaara was excited, her old village had been literally destroyed by Sound and it was a pointless attack. The village was full of murderers and thieves and people who had been banished. How Amelia would manage to come out of that unscathed was beyond him, she was the only survivor. The village would hold no interest of Orochimaru's because no one with special jutsu was there, just the low-lives. Now he was curious to get there.

As the old man Hoji led them to his boat, Amelia grinned and that mischievous sparkle glittered in her eyes, and Gaara didn't know how unusual her old home really was.


	24. Arrival

Gaara-Frenzy- You find out where they're going in this chapter! Thank you very much for the review!

Azura Soul Reaver- What will her old home look like? Yes there is a twist to this chapter!

Reiko Ninjato- Aww! I'm sorry for updating but people get angry if I don't update this story! (I'm not sure why people like this story so much, but they do!) And as I said before I totally understand you not being able to update I have those times too you know!

I. Murdered. Tinkerbell- That's so sad! Your dad dropped you? Did you break anything? That's terrible! Well this chapter has a twist on the location of there destination... and I hope you like it! Thank you for the review and enjoy!

AnimeStar001- Again...thank you for catching that mistake you are a life saver I just want you to know! Second, there will be a twist on there destination, what kind of an author would I be if I didn't put a spin on it? And lastly... I will do my best not to be to harsh on Ryuu but I'm not making any promises! (Leans the death stick against the wall and huffs)

Snowy-Ninja- Yes you are correst, I am twisting there vacation, but not in the way you're expecting. I wanted people to speculate what her old villag might look like now before I reveiled there destination!

SugarLandBabyGirl- Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Me and Gaara 4ever- Yay! Can I join in the update dance? Or do I just have to do the typing? Hahaha! Thank you for the review and enjoy!

* * *

Three hours out on the boat, and Amelia could no longer sit still, Gaara figured they were getting close and quickly looked out on the horizon but he could see nothing through the thick, dense fog. Suddenly the boat slowed to a crawl before stopping completely. Hoji walked up to them, holding Amelia's bow and arrow, Amelia grabbed them quickly and headed to the front of boat and Gaara looked confused but the old man just chuckled and shook his head.

"Boy I hope you got good chakra control. Amelia! I'll be back in a week to pick you two up! Make sure your up high so you can see me, I'm not going to wait for you forever." Hoji shouted and Amelia grinned and finished tying the rope on the arrow, before she cocked back the arrow, and let it fly. Gaara could hear the arrow hit something, and Amelia tied the rope to the boat before swinging onto the rope, using her chakra to stay balanced. Hoji tossed her a case of arrows which she strapped onto her back.

"C'mon Gaara! Were wasting time on the boat, the adventure begins once we get there." She crouched low on the rope, grinning at the red head. He hesitated a moment before he swung up on the rope beside her. Amelia wasted no time, grabbing his hand, Hoji watched as the two raced up the rope and disappeared into the fog. He shook his head, counted to twenty and started up his boat, heading back for home.

The rope climbed perfectly straight up, the higher they got, the more the fog cleared up, suddenly an enormous wall came into Gaara's view and he frowned slightly. He couldn't remember bio-warfare written anywhere we he studied her old homes massacre. When he could see the top of the wall, where the arrow was firmly embedded, Amelia whirled around and covered his eyes with one of her hands.

"I want this to be a surprise for you… so without further ado, I bid you welcome to my home." She walked slowly up the rest of the path, he felt his feet move from the unsteady rope to the solid wall and Amelia moved behind him, and only then did she remove her hand from his eyes. Gaara was stunned into silence at the sight that lay before his eyes. She wasn't taking him to her old village; she was taking him to her home.

"This is the island that you met the Shukaku on. It's so…" He couldn't find the right words to describe it. Beautiful lush forests covered the terrain, beautiful rivers and waterfalls fell and twisted there way through the often, there were mountains of in the distance covered in lush greenery. The entire island was bursting with colors, wildlife and other exotic creatures.

"I wanted to bring you here Gaara. The moment Temari told me that I should get you to go on a vacation I knew I had to bring you here. I knew I wanted to show you my home." Amelia glanced at Gaara who looked at her with widened aquamarines. "I trust you more than anyone Gaara. I trust you enough to show you this place." With that she leapt from the wall, and Gaara followed close behind. When he hit the ground, Amelia grabbed his hand and took off running, laughter falling from her lips.

Gaara was mesmerized by the beauty of this place, it was so peaceful, so perfect, he realized now why Amelia never wanted to leave, and he allowed her to pull him through her tropical paradise. For hours she showed him the places she used to play at, the hiding places she used when she and the Shukaku played hide and seek, and places where she would bathe or swim. If Gaara wasn't the Kazekage he might consider living here with her.

Then she took him up the side of the mountain. Even the mountain was covered in strange, exotic plants. Some she pointed out were edible and some she pointed out would kill you within three minutes if you ate one. When they reached a flat section of the mountain, he came across the most massive cave he had ever seen. Amelia disappeared inside it and Gaara followed behind. Stalactites and stalagmites, decorated the cave room and parts of the cave bottom. Amelia giggled as she remembered an ancient memory.

"Shukaku used to get these crystals stuck in his body all the time, at one point her had decided to destroy them all, but I begged and pleaded with him not to, eventually he caved and let them be, so as long as I cleared a spot for him to rest without him being in danger of getting stabbed." Amelia laughed, and it made Gaara smile. He hadn't heard such a carefree laugh come from her in a long time.

"This is where we'll sleep. I know this island better than the back of my hand and this is the best place to sleep…" She paused for a moment and set down her things, before she turned to face him, an almost guilty look in her eyes. "I feel kind of bad for not telling you where we were going, I just really wanted to surprise you with something, and I figured since I'm always talking about this place you could get some relaxation here… but if you don't wish to say that's fine… I could probably get a hold of Hoji…"

Gaara wasn't sure why he kissed her. Maybe it was to shut her up, maybe because he knew it would lay her fears to rest, or maybe because it would make her smile, and sure enough a brilliant smile lit up her face when he pulled away. He smiled and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, and she almost purred.

"Sleep Amelia." He commanded and she pulled out the sleeping bag made for two. She waited until he got in before she followed suit and curled into him, tucking her body around his and resting her head beneath his chin… she was such a child and Gaara adored her. He ran his finders through her hair, and quickly she was asleep. With Amelia in his arms, and the demon gone, Gaara closed his eyes and fell into sleep.

Suddenly Gaara could see images. Amelia was tanner with an outfit made out of various leaves, flowers, and trees. Arrows made from pieces of bark and stones were strapped to her back, and a makeshift bow made from bark and a vine was secured tightly in her right hand. She darted from tree to tree, a look of determination and excitement spread across her face.

She stopped in a high branch and glanced down. A rabid tiger ran in circles, chasing its tail, snarling at nothing and foaming at the mouth. Amelia grabbed one of her arrows and knocked it silently in the bow. She pulled back the string, paused for a moment and let the arrow fl. It was a direct hit, quickly putting the beast out of its misery. Amelia hopped out of the tree and approached the tiger cautiously; he was half-lying in a small stream, her arrow still embedded in his head.

"Boo!" Poor Amelia leapt about five feet in the air, falling into the small stream with a loud splash, with wide emerald eyes she stared up at the massive creature, Shukaku, who she claimed was her best friend. She glared angrily at the beast and splashed him with water.


	25. Wishes

Azura Soul Reaver- The island was supposed to be a tropical paradise so I'm glad you liked it.

Ratsemina- Well if you want a visual picture of the island look up a picture of the island from the movie King Kong. That was my inspiration for the island! Yes Gaara did have a flashback of Shukaku and Amelia's old days on the island. Finally this is a huge turning point in the story. I'm wondering what you'll think of this chapter and I'll give you something to think about. What will be Amelia and the Shukaku's reaction?

Snowy-ninja- I designed the island as a place I would love to live at as well so I'm glad you like it. I know! Amelia is so lucky getting a red head all to herself on this huge luscious island...lucky girl!

Gaara-Frenzy- Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Me and Gaara 4ever- Yes that was a flashback of some of the old times Amelia and the Shukaku used to have!

* * *

When Gaara woke up, he was alone. The crystals in the cave, gleamed in the morning light he got out of the cot and changed, before walking outside the cave. The area surrounding the cave had a little greenery with a large rived that began as a waterfall plummeted from a higher point on the mountain and then led to the edge of the cliff where the water once more plummeted off the cliff and down towards the more lush sections of the forest.

Suddenly a glimpse of black caught the corner of his eye and he watched in mystified wonder as Amelia leapt from the top of the cliff and followed the waterfall to the beautiful pool below. She resurfaced a moment later and Gaara had to turn and look away, she wore a bikini top and bottom and little to nothing was left to the human imagination. He was almost blushing as red as his hair. Unfortunately for the red head, Amelia noticed this.

"What's wrong Gaara? Never seen a girl jump off a cliff before?" Gaara instinctively turned to answer the woman, but was instantly silenced. She was still wearing the bikini and her hair clung to all the curves of her figure like a lifeline. She placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side innocently. "Cat got your tongue Kazekage-sama?"

She stalked around him, moving with deliberate slowness, but the look in her eyes was far from innocent. He was suddenly reminded of a predator watching its prey. Here, he would even admit he was that very prey, this was her territory not his. Here she was the boss, with laughter dancing in her eyes and pouring from her lips, she disappeared into the cave, only to come out a moment later fully dressed.

"Kazekage-sama would you accompany me on a walk?" She did a mock bow while she swept her dark hair into a high ponytail. Gaara rolled his eyes and began walking in the direction of the forest, not even bothering to respond with an answer. The sound of her laughter as she raced to catch up with him echoed through his mind. Filling the dark corners with its light. However on the outside he frowned.

"Why do you like me so much Amelia… what have I done to deserve your love?" Gaara questioned her once her laughter ceased. For a long while Amelia said nothing and a silence filled the space between them. He figured she had forgotten about his question and the next time she spoke would be to tell him of an old memory with her and the Shukaku…but she didn't.

"You have done everything for me Gaara. All the little things that no one has ever done for me before. I was born into a wealthy family, suitors were always trying to gain my affection with promises of gifts and wealth, but none of that ever mattered, at least to me and I turned each one down. Finally my father got tired of waiting for me to choose and he sent me on a ship to a land a little farther west than ours. We crashed and I washed up on the Shukaku's island, and for the first time he saw me as…well me. So for me it's the little things that matter and Gaara in that category you are undefeated." She didn't look at him once, Gaara could tell that part of her memory was very touchy, but he couldn't help the pride that swarmed in him at her last phrase.

She laced her fingers with his, and together they walked in a comfortable silence through the forest. Gaara enjoyed her company and the sense of peace this place gave off. He hoped they could come back here again. She leaned closer into him, a peaceful smile on her face. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes; he always seemed to be watching her.

"Gaara?" Her voice was questioning but the smile still adorned her face. "If you could have one wish, anything at all… what would it be?" Her long black hair swept over his shoulder as a strong gust of wind blew it. Amelia laughed and pulled her hair back, momentarily breaking her hold on Gaara, but quickly grabbing his hand once more.

"To earn the respect and trust of everyone in Sunagakure. To be forgiven for the ones I hurt in the past. That's why I became Kazekage, I wanted to show them that I'm not a monster. I want to do that by helping them. Naruto Uzumaki taught me that." Amelia admired his courage, to try to convince that many people that you've gone from bad to good is a difficult task both mentally and physically. "What about you?" His aquamarine eyes bore into her own, and Amelia blinked.

"I wish to help you achieve your goal. I want to help you succeed Gaara and if that's what you would like, I wish to help in any way possible. I am happy if you are happy." She squeezed his arm in a hug, and his own heart skipped a beat at the look on her face. He knew her words were sincere, but he knew this was not her greatest wish. For some reason unbeknownst to him, Amelia looked at him like he was the reason she breathed, like he was the reason she existed. He knew her greatest wish to stay by his side, and he was glad of that, he wasn't sure what he would do without her.

It was like he had been hit with a freight train. He stopped dead in his tracks and Amelia almost stumbled from the abrupt movement. She looked back at him with concern laced across her face, but right now he couldn't even see her. How had he not seen this before? All this time it had been right there in front of him but he never saw it. It was like the storm clouds had cleared in his mind.

I love you. She had those words to him so long ago and they had made his heart squeeze. He had been scared and petrified to say those three little words, and instead told her how he wished to protect her, but she accepted his response with a smile, but now he could see, all this time he had loved her and just never knew it, but now it made perfect sense.

That was why he could never get work done with her smile popping into his brain. That's why he could never be around her without his eyes always straying back to her. That's why he could never fight without her laughter ringing through his head, it was because he loved her. Now he criticized himself for not seeing it sooner. Her hands on his face quickly brought him out of his thoughts.

"Gaara? Are you all-" He cut her off, with impressive speed he coiled his arms around her back and crushed her to him in a tight hug. Amelia gasped, she fell forward into him, if it wasn't for his arms, she would have fallen. She wrapped her arms back around him. She didn't know what had gotten into him but she wasn't about to complain. His fingers moved to her shoulders and he abruptly pulled her back to look her in the eye. Amelia frowned even further at seeing such a serious look in his eye. But what he said next would shock her so bad, her mind would actually go blank.

"Amelia… marry me."


	26. The Answer

Me and Gaara 4ever- Well I hope she comes back to life or that would be very sad for me. I would loose one of my favorite readers!

ChojisGirl- Thank you very much!

Azura Soul Reaver- Well I try to keep my stories unpredictable, I'm glad you liked it!

Snowy-ninja- Yes Gaara realized that Amelia loved him. Her answer is obviously in this chapter, but I will give you something to think about, what will the Shukaku's response be?

SugarLandBabyGirl- It's all good! My laptop decides to freeze on me at the weirdest times, I'm just glad you're back!

HeartsWillToWrite- Thank you very much! There are so many stories out there where the girl Gaara falls for is a badass, or is an unstoppable force, or a super powerful ninja with an attitude... I wanted to do something different, I wanted to make a character that was strong but she had obvious limits, and I wanted a character that was much more childish and innocent and so the concept of Amelia came to be, but I needed a way to tie her to Gaara, so the inspiration for the island and her connections with the Shukaku were actually inspired by King Kong! lol But uh... t=now that I'm done writing a novel for a review response...thank you very very much and enjoy!

Akizu Miko- Amelia hasn't responded yet and what about the Shukaku?

Gaara- Fenzy- Yes I had to have a humorous scene before the sappy romance... the bikini is such a useful tool lol

Ratsemina- I figured out it was you once I clicked on the link to see who had reviewed my story lol but thank you for telling me anyway! Yes I am forever picking on Gaara and his emotions, the bikini scene was very fun to write. It actually took me longer to write the proposing scene than the bikini one. Humor is my specialty, romance is...well not. I'm glad you liked Amelia's wish. I have rules I follow whenever I write about Amelia and those are one is she still childish, two is she still unpredictable and three does she still maintain her innocence. Amelia is by far my most complex character but she is also my favorite, so I have no idea how long this stupid story will be... but anyway as for the wedding, you will have to wait and see, remember you still haven't heard Amelia's reaction... and you haven't heard the Shukaku's either.

* * *

Amelia's mind and body had momentarily forgotten all of the functions necessary to sustain life on the planet, for example breathing. Her mind was completely blank, and her heart was fluttering so fast it probably knocked a year off of her life in under a minute. All the poor girl could do was gawk and stare at the noble Kazekage in silent wonder. Her brain had not yet processed his question and was where near thinking coherently enough to give him a response.

All the while, Gaara's expression gave nothing away, it was like he had asked her about the weather, or about some old friend who he had seen, Gaara was just so perfectly guarded that in any other situation she would have been jealous. Gaara was unsure of what her reaction would be to his sudden question, he hoped to whatever God was listening that she said yes.

But to simply say yes would never be in Amelia's nature, Amelia was strange and never did things like most people did, in fact after several moments of her body not functuning properly, it suddenly seemed to want to catch up for the time it missed and with impressive speed, Amelia launched herself straight at the ninja she loved, successfully knocking him over. She kissed him as she tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him with all the love, admiration, and compassion she had for him, and Gaara was happy to return her affection.

When she pulled back from him, her long dark hair fell in ribbons around them hiding them from the forest and the smile on her face and the excitement in her eyes caused Gaara's heart to skip several beats. He didn't know what he had done to make this amazing girl love him as much as her eyes and her face clearly showed it, but he would be forever grateful to whatever made her love him. He pulled her back down, crushing her to his chest.

Amelia embraced him back, nothing could ever make her as happy as she in this very moment. Amelia was gone and walking somewhere up on cloud nine. She was so ecstatic she couldn't tell you where she was or why she was there, all that existed in Amelia's world was Gaara, at the moment there was no Shukaku there Village Hidden in the Sand, there was only Gaara, and his scent, and his touch and his taste and his feel and Amelia was completely content.

"Amelia…are you truly happy?" His rough voice made her shake like a fault line, but his words made her sit back up and gaze into those gorgeous aquamarines of his and she frowned, she lifted one hand to trace his cheekbones and his jaw line, to think that he would be bound to her, that all of his beauty and everything he was would be hers to cherish and to love just sent ripples of happiness shooting through her.

"Happy? No beloved I am not Happy I am ecstatic, I have wanted to be apart of you for so long, I have longed to be your heart so we may live and die together. I know you have much to care for and I know you truly love Naruto Uzumaki as a brother, and the other friends you have, have left deep imprints on your heart. But as a wedding gift, if I may be so bold, may I ask for a small piece of your heart? Just a small space that is for me and me alone?" She continued to trace the contours of his face as she spoke.

"No… I cannot grant you that request." Gaara watched carefully as her face fell, her obvious high from his question plummeted and he swore he could almost hear her own heart breaking. "I cannot give you a piece of what already belongs to you." He spoke quietly and Amelia's eyes widened, obvious shock lacing through her face. A tear fell from one of her emerald eyes as she embraced him once more. "It is I who should be asking you that question." Gaara mumbled into her hair as Amelia clung to him like a lifeline. But they both knew Gaara already owned her heart, he knew he had owned it for quite some time, and now he only prayed he could keep it.

To say Gaara was amused would be an understatement. He actually couldn't keep the smile on his face, or the amusement flickering his eyes to go away. He remained uncharacteristically light hearted as Amelia trotted about as though she had won the lottery. She picked up her feet slightly higher than usual and her hair bounced in time with her steps. She paraded around the island with her eyes glittering and happiness practically singing in her aura.

Gaara enjoyed Amelia's old island, it was truly a peaceful place, an escape from the duties of Kazekage, and most of all a private place where he could spend time with Amelia. He made a mental note to try to come back here at least once a year. If not for anything else, simply because it made Amelia happy and if it made Amelia happy, than it made Gaara happy.

As there last day on the island came to a close, Amelia snuggled up against Gaara so tightly, and her arms held around him with such zeal, he wondered briefly if she viewed him as nothing more than a teddy bear. He quickly squashed that thought and his mind easily fell into peace. It was the touched like this that he had missed out on as a child and he loved it, although he would never in a million years admit it. She buried her nose in the back of his neck and the two easily drifted off to sleep.

They traveled back to the same place they had jumped over the wall, and Amelia once again had to use the rope attached to the arrow trick. The walls surrounding the island were far too slick to walk up. And so rope was there only option. As promised the old man was there waiting and immediately Amelia broke into conversation about how there trip had gone while Gaara leisurely relaxed against one of the rails. Towards the end of there journey and after they had reached the shoe, Amelia paused and hesitated, a blush rose to her cheeks as she turned to the old boat man.

"Hoji… may I ask one more favor before we leave?" Amelia's cheeks were tinted pink and she turned to face him, fidgetting nervously as she did so. Gaara rarely saw her nervous or anxious so he watched carefully. The old man paused and turned around studying her just as much as Gaara. He scratched his head and tilted his head to the side in confusion. " Will you give me away at my wedding? Since my father is kind of… um… dead?" Amelia looked down embarrassed at her request

"Amelia…" The old man trailed off as he fell into a fit of laughter as he clutched at his belly to prevent himself from falling over. He found her embarassment over such a question truly entertaining and he struggled to catch his breath. "Amelia! Is that why you were so anxious on the boat? Was that truly what troubled you this entire time? Dear girl you needn't even ask I would be honored to give you away dear child!"

As the old man fell into another fit of laughter, Amelia snapped to attention and glared before she huffed and folded her arms across her chest and turned sideways, much like the innocent child she was. It took all the willpower Gaara had not to crack a smile and chuckle along with the old man, it was fortunate for Gaara that Amelia was in an agitated mood because she didn't seem to notice the few minutes that it took for Gaara to regain his composure.

"Amelia come on we must get back to Suna before the sandstorms come." Gaara called to the woman he asked to marry him and she turned, her pretty emerald eyes looking momentarily lost before she smiled brilliantly and waved back at the old man once before shooting forward and with grace that only Amelia seemed to posses, she dove under his right arm and curled into his side, quickly wrapping an arm around his waist. Gaara only smirked and pulled her tighter into his chest as he walked with her back to Suna.


	27. Kankuro and Shukaku

Gaaras1Girl- Thank you for the review and you get both the Shukaku's reaction and Kankuro's reaction here.

Azura Soul Reaver- I haven't decided when exactly they are going to get married, but probably within the next three chapters.

darkness engulfs me- I wasn't even going to include the Shukaku in the wedding, but you got me thinking and now I have a much more...ahem... intresting spot for him, but you will have to wait to find out what that is!

Gaara-Frenzy- You get to see what the Shukaku thinks of Amelia's big plans in this one. How will he react?

SugarLandBabyGirl- Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ratsemina- I'm glad you liked her reply to Gaara's proposal, I probably wrote it about thirteen times lol. I wanted to make sure that her answer was in true Amelia style so I'm very happy that you liked it! Yes, comedy is my specialty and so I try to incorporate it into almost all of my stories. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I'm super excited to write the wedding chapter because I have the perfect spot for the Shukaku!

Me and Gaara 4ever- Hahaha! Thank you very much! I really appreciate the review and enjoy!

Akizu Miko- This chapter is less of the mushy stuff and more of the comedy stuff but I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and thank you for the review!

Reiko Ninjato- How did you get yourself grounded? If you don't mind me asking.

Snowy-Ninja- Well as always the Shukaku plays a big role in Amelia's life so his opinion matters a lot to her. And even though it is true they are all sex mad creatures, you must remember that Shukaku is incredibly protective of Amelia!

Black Claided Cat- Thank you! Yes finally Gaara realized that he does in fact love Amelia so last chapter was a turning point for this story. I'm glad you liked the last two chapters and enjoy!

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Amelia's mood could not be brought down. She trotted through the streets as if she owned them. Her excitement and happiness seemed to seep into the very villagers of Sunagakure, even the ones that usually called Gaara some inappropriate name beneath there breath gave a weak smile as she passed. Gaara wasn't sure why she was so ecstatic, she already lived with him and half of the time curled up beside him while she slept its not like that much would change, it would basically just be official.

She whirled around to face him. Her long dark hair whipped out behind her in an effort to keep up with the sudden movement. The smile in her eyes was enough to make his posture momentarily soften as she captured him in a hug. She squeezed him tightly just because she could and a small laugh fell from her lips. Poor Gaara was perplexed as he good naturedly, hugged her back. Did he truly make her this happy?

When they got home, Amelia was still smiling so brightly that Gaara feared that she was going to be permanently stuck with a smile on her face.

"Kitty!" Kankuro, whose snack cravings had come just ten seconds to late, had been on his way down the stairs as the two walked in, before he even had time to react, Amelia had lunged for him, Kankuro, whom had not been ready for the attack, and with a loud thump the two hit the stairs, Kankuro cushioning the fall. Amelia's laughter was much louder than Kankuro's groan of pain and Gaara almost cracked a smile, and instead decided on a smirk. "Kitty guess what??? I'm getting married!!"

Kankuro's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Slowly his mind seemed to process what Amelia had told him. Instinctively his body stiffened in shock as Amelia got off of him ,still smiling as bright as ever, and looked towards Gaara who didn't seem anywhere near as excited as Amelia, but amusement danced in his pupiless eyes. But then, being Kankuro, the fool spoke the first thought that came to his head.

"So Gaara, I'm guessin' she must be really good in bed." Kankuro grinned that lecherous grin only for it to disappear as fast as it came as he clamped his hands over his mouth. He could've said congratulations, he could have danced around with Amelia, hell he even could have hugged his brother… but no he just had to go and blurt out his first thoughts… and if looks could kill…

"Kankuro…" For the thousandth time Kankuro felt a familiar chill scale his spine as his younger brother snarled his name. When he looked to his soon-to-be sister-in-law for help, his face only fell further when he noticed her face buried in her hands and even between her fingers he could clearly see the red staining her cheeks. Kankuro heard the hissing of the sand and quickly reverted his attention back to Gaara.

He scrambled to his feet and ran down the hallway screaming some form of an apology as he went as the sand and a very pissed off red head followed closely behind. Amelia was far to embarrassed chase after the puppeteer, and so she didn't notice the flicker of moment from the kitchen into the living room, until the figure spoke.

"Amelia, walk with me." That deep, powerful voice was enough to send all of her embarrassment and shyness away and immediately she straightened out and was attentive. Her pretty Emerald eyes studied the figure in front of her. He wore a tattered black robe and his skin was tan. He had the most gorgeous golden eyes that seemed to pierce right through her soul and when he extended an arm out to her she made no hesitation to attend him.

"Shukaku, why have you taken your human form? I thought you detested it, you claimed it reminded you of when you were a priest and had impurities like us humans." Amelia linked arms with her best friend and he easily guided her towards the door. Only one other time had she seen him in this form and it had been very brief when he explained to her that he was once a priest he showed her his original form, but he had shown his obvious distaste for it so she never asked for him to show her again.

"I dislike being in this form, but I believe our walk will be much less eventful if I don't look like a demon raccoon." His voice was much smoother. Not as drunk sounding , Amelia would never tell him how much she loved listening to his voice in this form. In a whirl of sand they were suddenly outside the city limits, clearly this was an all business talk, there would be no laughter here. "You plan to marry my ex-host?"

"Yes… I took him to your island and the third day we were there he asked me to marry him." Amelia choose her words carefully and immediately bit her lip in shame as she saw him abruptly stiffen when she mentioned the island. He turned on her, his golden eyes scrutinizing her and Amelia felt the guilt creep up her spine.

"You took Gaara to my island?" She could feel hidden emotions behind those words, wether good or bad she could not tell. Those golden orbs filled with so many stormy emotions, she could easily see why so many people would fear him, he truly was a terrifying creature.

"Yes… because I trust him, he won't tell anyone about the island… and I took him there because I love him and they overwork him here. You should know that more than anyone, you were apart of him." Amelia was not afraid of the Shukaku, she trusted him more than anyone, he saved her from being married to a man she had never met. It was ironic at how close there story actually was to the classic Beauty and the Beast.

"Stupid girl…" Instantly she smiled at her pet name as any malice or hatred left those golden orbs. "You should know by now that Gaara was at least tolerable under my terms." He folded his arms across his chest, his once human personality being replaced with the almost drunken swagger of the demon. Amelia smiled and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Aww! Whats a matter Shukaku? Are you offended that I didn't tell you that I was taking Gaara back to our home?" Amelia teased the blood-thirsty demon and the only retort he had was a loud snort as his human form disappeared and was replaced by that of the raccoon. His golden orbs rolled as he walked towards the female.

"Stupid girl…" The demon mumbled as he passed the dark haired girl. Amelia's grin widened as she whirled around to catch up to the demon. She chased after him as laughter poured from her lips, the sound being lost in the deserts sands as she leapt onto the demons back and the two disappeared in a whirl of sand.

As a clock in Suna struck two in the morning, the door to the Kazekage's room creaked open and in walked the demon raccoon. He leapt on top of one of the bedside tables and his golden eyes flickered as he watched Amelia sleep in the protective embrace of his former host. His tail flicked the empty air and his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Don't get me wrong Gaara… you were one of the few humans I could tolerate… but if you ever hurt her I swear it will be the last mistake you ever make." The Shukaku knew the two were sleeping but none-the-less shifted his gaze to the sleeping girl and shaking his head as he hoped off the table. "Stupid girl…you're more trouble than your worth."


	28. Good Morning

Snowy-ninja- Well this story is one of my favorites, but its also the hardest for me to write because. I'm trying to make the Shukaku have a compassionate side, yet still be the blood-thirsty raccoon and I'm trying to make Amelia more of an actual human, rather than some top model that just happens to have amazing powers. I don't have my stories planned and written ahead of time, I write them as I go, but look at it this way, if Shukaku took Amelia away from Gaara, Amelia would be terribly upset. But anyway...enough of my babbling! Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Black Claided Cat- I'm glad you liked the Shukaku's little brotherly speech. Thank you for the review and enjoy!

Azura Soul Reaver- Thank you very much! Please enjoy!

Gaara-Frenzy- Don't worry Amelia scars Kankuro for life in this chapter so she exacts her revenge!

Gaaras1Girl- The Shukaku I twisted to be almost like a father-figure to Amelia, and so he plays that role, as for Kankuro...well you'll see!

Me And Gaara 4ever- Well you will have to fight Amelia for the Shukaku and let me tell you shes got one mean upper cut so be careful!!!

darkness engulfs me- I do believe your favorite part of this chapter will be when you find out what his role is in the wedding, but then again I could be wrong, because I do believe that half way through the chapter you will be drooling right along with Amelia, but I could be wrong! As for Kankuro... Amelia unintentionally scars the poor guy for life so in a way she got her revenge! As always I love reading your reviews and I hope you like this chapter! Big hugs!

Ratsemnia- The Shukaku is incredibly difficult for me to write into this story, merely because in the show and in most stories. The Shukaku is portrayed as a villain, a nuisance, or something to be terrified of. To where I attempt to make him into the good guy and to actually have a soul. Its difficult for me to write into his character, yet at the same time still keep him as the blood-thirsty attitude, and yes the demon was a little sore that Amelia and Gaara went back to the island. Kankuro will never learn to steady his tongue and so yet again he has ticked off Gaara... but Amelia exacts revenge by giving Kankuro an image that will most likel scar the poor boy for the remainder of his days. I hope you like this chapter and I wish to see a new chapter of yours, but I am loathe to read it, because I do not wish to hear of Gaara's death!

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"No. There is no way in hell I will ever do that. If I was the last thing on Earth I would not do that." The Shukaku's golden orbs narrowed at the pleading female in front of him. Amelia was on her knees and giving him the most pathetic look that she could possibly muster. Her big green eyes looked incredibly innocent and her bottom lip even quivered. "No. Are you out of your freakin mind?"

"But you would look so cute! I could lie and just say you were a dog that I dressed up! Oh please please please please!" Amelia attempted to persuade the savage demon but the demon was being characteristically stubborn. Amelia frowned and closed her eyes as she thought of ways to bribe him. She suddenly snapped her fingers and grinned dangerously. The Shukaku frowned and backed up slowly. "I'll make you a deal. In three weeks I'm going on a mission with a few sand shinobi to destroy a small camp that Sound has set up in the desert. I'll let you come and kill as many of the rat bastards as you want… but you have to do this for me.

"Girl…" The Shukaku growled and hesitated, looking both ways before giving a loud growl. Behind them Kankuro walked down the stairs in some sweatpants and his hair sticking out in every direction. "Fine you stupid girl! But I'm not wearing anything!" Amelia squealed and squeezed the raccoon-dog as tight as she could before she tossed him on the couch and skipped into the couch.

"What did you get the poor thing to agree to this time?" Kankuro asked her as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Gaara was sitting at the table in some maroon pants and no shirt. Amelia hadn't even noticed her fiancé yet and instead skipped next to Kankuro and hopped up onto the counter. The puppeteer glanced at her and she grinned.

"Shukaku is gonna walk next to the flower girl at my wedding!" Kankuro dropped the cup of coffee he was holding and a loud choking sound came from the table. Gaara's aquamarine eyes were wide as he tried really hard to swallow the caffeinated liquid in his mouth instead of spraying it across the room. Kankuro stumbled backward and had to grab the counter for support.

"Shukaku is gonna do what now?" Kankuro managed to sputter out, but Amelia was currently distracted. Amelia was staring at Gaara's bare chest. Despite most of his fighting techniques not even requiring him to move, pure muscle covered his wide chest and strong shoulders tapered in to a perfectly sculpted six pack. Amelia's eyes were glued to her fiancé. It was official. She was marrying some kind of God. Amelia looked at Kankuro who was still reeling in shock and pointed at Gaara, who at this point could feel the smugness swell up in his chest.

"Do you see that Kankuro?" Kankuro managed to glance at his brother and look back at Amelia, before he nodded dumbly. "That is the reason that you will have to take over all of Gaara's paperwork." Amelia folded her arms across her chest. She wore a spaghetti strap tank top that showed just an inch of her belly and she wore sleeping pants with a tie that kept them on.

"What? If you haven't forgotten I'm moving to Konoha thanks to my love struck sister… why the hell would I do his paperwork anyway? There's a reason I declined the position of Kazekage you know." Kankuro glared at the young female who was still perched on the counter. Gaara, whom had finally managed to stop coughing, was about to intervene, but his soon-to-be-wife spoke before he could open his mouth.

"Well he sure as hell isn't going to be doing paperwork anytime soon! I mean look at him! After were married he will be lucky to put some pants on much less leave the bedroom!" Amelia spoke as if she was conversing about the weather. Kankuro's jaw fell open and he gracefully slid down to the floor as the color left his face. Gaara's eyes widened at what she implied but he just smirked as his cockiness damn-near skyrocketed.

"Ah… that's just wrong." Kankuro used one hand to push himself up off the floor and he shakily, stumbled to the kitchen entryway. He paused and looked over his shoulder and Amelia grinned and slowly stuck her pointer finger in her mouth. Kankuro visibly shuddered and shook his head. "So wrong…" The puppeteer quickly left the room.

Amelia grinned and hopped off the counter, a small smirk rested on Gaara's face as his eyes flashed with amusement. She lazily walked around the table and bent down to wrap her arms around his torso. Her nails brushed deliciously over her stomach and his muscles jumped and twitched beneath her fingertips. She nuzzled her nose into his neck and breathed in his scent. Gaara set the cup down and enjoyed her attention.

"Good morning handsome!" Amelia's voice seemed especially light-hearted and over all happy. Gaara turned his head to the side and was met with the island girls greenish blue orbs. She smiled brilliantly at the red head and Gaara offered her a small smile, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"What's got you in such a good mood this morning?" Gaara's deep, masculine voice sent shivers cascading down Amelia's spine, and the fact that he was shirtless didn't help her. She grinned like a fox; she was obviously feeling mischievous this morning.

"Well… if you promise not to tell anyone I suppose I could tell you." Gaara narrowed his eyes curiously and her grin grew. She squeezed her body in between the table, before she sat down on his lap, effectively straddling him and keeping him in place. She leaned her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around his neck. Instinctively he wrapped his strong arms around her waist. His pupiless eyes filled with curiosity as he waited for her to speak.

"You see, I went on a vacation with this stunning and drop-dead gorgeous boy, and for some crazy reason, he asked me to marry him. Now I get this amazing boy all to myself! How could I not be happy?" Her grin had turned into a more sincere smile, but her eyes still held her mischief, and then in a rare moment of happiness, the Kazekage snorted, his cold demeanor returning.

"No… I believe you're just happy because you get to watch the boys fan girls sulk away into the darkness as they struggle to find a meaning in there lives." Gaara snorted and Amelia pulled back from him slightly. She put her left hand on her chest in mock shock.

"Did my fiancé just tell a joke?" Amelia gave him a fake look of shock and Gaara rolled his eyes. With strength and quickness that had Amelia squealing, Gaara moved one arm under her legs while the other remained at her back as he hoisted her into the air, he carried her back to the counter and set her there.

"You… you are a distraction do you know that?" Gaara's eyes were narrowed and she realized he was already late for work by about a half an hour. Amelia maturely pouted, her innocence shined through once more and Gaara couldn't help but chuckle, as he skillfully kissed her. When he pulled away she struggled not to smile and resume her pout, but she failed miserably. His eyes quickly roamed her figure once before he quietly huffed and turned around.

"And you think I'm the one that will be lucky to leave the bedroom." He spoke just loudly enough for her to hear. As he trudged up the stairs to grab a shirt before he headed to the office, he didn't need to look behind him to know there was a smile on Amelia's face.


	29. Celebration

Azura Soul Reaver- Thank you very much! Please enjoy this chapter

Snowy-ninja- Hahaha! Well the entire poin of this story was to give Shukaku some kind of a background... history if you will and to put a spin on the usually bloodthirsty demon, so I actually appreciate the reviews more when they include him! As for the wedding... I will see what I can do about a top hat...

darkness engulfs me- As I've said before this is definately one of my favorite stories to write just because Amelia is so fun to personality can either be devious and smart-witted, or childish and charming. Plus I think she compliments Gaara really well, so once I actually start writing its very simple to write chapters for this story! Anyway do enjoy this chapter and many hugs!

Gaaras1Girl- I havent yet decided if I'm going to throw kids into this story... but can you imagine if something were to happen to them? They would have Gaara, Shukaku, and Amelia, ( and quite possibly Kankuro and Temari) all hunting down whoever did it? I would almost feel sorry for the poor bastard! But anyway Amelia obviously has super persuassion powers if she managed to convince Shukaku to be in the wedding!

ChojisGirl- Thank you very much and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Gaara-Fenzy- I'm glad it made you laugh! I love stories that have humor and a little flair, I'm really glad you enjoyed that chapter. Surprisingly its Gaara that renders his dear brother speechless in this one so hopefully you'll enjoy this one as well.

aquamarine-acaia- And Kankuro gets scarred...again.

Me and Gaara 4ever- *Smiles brightly* Yep! Once the wedding gets here. The shukaku will be present! Most likely in a little mini top hat!

Ratsemina-Well I try to have my sad scenes, and I try to have my happy scenes, but I also like to have chapters that just show that they have normal days too! Something isn't happening every single day of there lives, and I think its a nice breather for the people who actually read the story... and yes if Amelia had a super power it would definately be her ability to persuade... especially the Shukaku. I almost feel bad for the poor demon. As for Amelia and her talk with Kankuro, I mean can you blame her? He sits there all calm and collected and poor Amelia follows behind like a drooling puppy. Poor girl dosent stand a chance... poor Kankuro... I guess I'm just picking on him lately... of course in this one he kind of set himself up...

SugarLandBabyGirl- Thank you very very much! A lot of people gave me positive feedback on the last chapter and I'm glad you liked it! I hope you enjoy this one as well.

Akizu Miko-I love the relationship between Amelia and Gaara they are really fun to write! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well!

invisible-gurl-Thank you very much. When I started this story I wanted to make the OC something different from the usual OC's so I'm really glad you enjoy her, it took me awhile to come up with her character and believe it or not, I was inspired by King Kong. :)

M11Curse- Well thank you! Gaara is such a pain in the arse to write. He's such a cold and distant character its really hard to make him emotional without destroying his character. Thank you very much for the review and enjoy!

diggydawg- Thank you so much! Out of all of my stories this is my favorite to write. Amelia is so fun to write that once I start, the chapters come pretty easily for me! I'm really glad you like it and please enjoy!

The Celestial Dragon- Well wait no longer! I finlly got my lazy butt going and actually wrote a chapter! So thank you for the wonderful review and enjoy!

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Amelia happily walked at Gaara's side. Her arm was laced with his and she was dressed in the Kazekage's colors, a symbol to let all of Konoha know that she was taken by the Kazekage. Amelia was treated damn near royalty by the good people of Konoha and to say she was complexed and maybe even a tad bit confused was an understatement. She was not used to this kind of special attention.

Amelia was dressed in a gorgeous formal gown and she wanted nothing more than to rip it off and go find a pair of jeans and at tank top. She absolutely loathed dresses. They reminded her far to much of her father, but she and Gaara were the Hokage's personal guests and she had to dress accordingly. She finished putting her perfect ringlets curls in the last pin and scrunched up her nose in disgust. What she wouldn't give at the moment to be dressed casual and letting the wind whip through her locks and tangling them all up. Today was going to suck. She gave an exasperated sigh and left the bathroom of the hotel room.

Gaara had been waiting by the door for only a few minutes. He tugged at the tie that was choking him. He hated formal events but it kind of came with the territory of being Kazekage. At least tonight he would have Amelia by his side and hopefully it wouldn't be as bad. He heard the bedroom door open and was stunned. She wore a gown of his colors, blue and white. They symbolized the Kazekage but the green of her eyes with the contrast of the blue made her entire body glow. She had put her hair in ringlets. He had never seen it curled before. She was beautiful, at least to Gaara.

"You look amazing Amelia." Gaara's quiet voice barely reached her ears, she knew how hard it was for Gaara to express or show any emotion and it was comments like that, that caused her heart to swell with love. She gave him one of her dazzling smiles that lit up her eyes and it made Gaara's heart melt. He was the only one that saw that smile, and the girl that it was attached to was all his.

"You look pretty good yourself…" Amelia's genuine smile switched to a much more mischievous look. "But uh… I think you would look much better without the tie, the shirt or the pants." Amelia draped her arms around Gaara's neck and touched her nose to his. She gave an involuntary shiver as his arms wrapped around her waist in a possessive hold. He growled against her lips.

"Says the woman who will soon be flat. on. her. back." Gaara pronounced the final four words clearly and with a snarl. Amelia shivered with anticipation and pushed her fiance back against the door sealing there lips in a fiery kiss. Amelia pulled away panting and tried desperately to regain her breath.

"Well lets get this thing over with so I can run back here, strip to my underwear and curl up to my muscular red headed fiance!" Amelia cheered with way more enthusiasum then necassary and Gaara couldn't help but smile. Amelia was so unpredictable. One moment she could be as blunt as hell and the next she'll be blushing like a school girl. She was unique, and Gaara loved her. As she moved to open the door, Gaara quickly grabbed it and held it open for her. She performed a mock bow and exited the hotel room.

Only then did she realize her dress was now crooked thanks to Gaara and was still fixing it when Kankuro and Temari exited there own hotel rooms. Kankuro of course could not just let it go after seeing Amelia not only fix her dress, but her slightly messed up hair and the fact that her lips were swollen from kissing.

"What were you two doing in there?" Kankuro grinned like a Cheshire cat and Temari rolled her eyes and wished she had something to clobber him with as the puppetteer gave a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows towards the two. And then, with point blank clarity, Gaara made Amelia's entire night.

"Having sex with my woman." Not used to Gaara giving chain jerking comebacks, Kankuro's jaw practically hit the floor and Temari looked at Amelia at the same time as Amelia looked at Temari and both of them began laughing so hard that Temari had to slump against the wall and Gaara was more than happy to wrap his arms around Amelia's waist while she regained herself. Kankuro recovered first.

"Aw… that's just not right… why do you gotta… that's not an image I ever wanted in my head!" Kankuro whinned. "Now I just have to drink until this night is forgotten!" Kankuro cheered and began parading down the hallway.

"Aw! Whats a matter Kitty? You jealous?" Amelia called after the infamous puppeteer and he promptly flipped her the bird. Amelia leaned back into Gaara's warm and protective embrace. She tilted her head back so that she was resting on his shoulder before she looked up at him. "Can't we just skip the party and go to bed?" Gaara smirked, kissed her quickly and followed after his brother. "Tease." Amelia snorted and offered Temari her hand.

Temari grabbed Amelia's hand and allowed her to help her back onto her feet. The two girls walked down the hall chattering away as they followed the boys.

They reached the banquet in no time and practically all of Konoha was there. It was strange to see so many important ninja in formal wear, and just like the Kazekage and Amelia, they all seemed equally uncomfortable. Tsunade and Gaara made a long speech that was basically summed up to a long and happy alliance between the two lands. It was several minutes after the cheers died down that Amelia called her own toast. Most of everyone looked at her strangely.

"I know most of you don't know me that well, but I am the Kazekage-samas fiance. I wish for nothing more than peace, loyalty, and prosperity for our two great nations. But I have a propisition for the two great Kage's…" She paused and most everyone was intrigued by her bold statement. "Next time we get together for one of these beautiful banquets, lets just keep it casual nothing formal." Amelia smiled brilliantly and half the auditorium erupted in cheer.

The evening went on uneventfully, Amelia and Gaara left back for there hotel at around one. Kankuro and Kiba left to become obviously plastered and Temari just crashed in the corner of the banquet with Shikamaru. Almost as soon as Gaara and Amelia were out of sight, she slipped under his arm and snuggled into her side. It made Gaara smile. A small barely noticeable smile but a smile none the less. He had discovered two things about Amelia. One she had the charm and ability to turn any formal or stressing event into a relaxing discussion, and two since she knew he wasn't very fond of public affection, every time they were alone some part of her body always had to be touching his. She would spontaneously grab his hand, rest her head on his shoulder, snuggle into his side or just bury her nose in his neck. She could never get enough of him and after a life time of terror, fear, and rejection, she was a welcome treatment for his broken soul.

Suddenly Amelia wrapped her arm around his waist and picked up her pace. She dragged him into there hotel and raced up the stairs. Gaara chuckled as she threw open the door and raced into the bathroom. A split second later, the dress was gone, her hair was unpinned and her body was covered in nothing but shorts and a tank top. She lunged at the bed and crawled under the covers with a large grin. However that quickly disappeared as she frowned and her eyes widened slightly in a pout. She sat up and gave a false look of sadness.

"Where… wheres my super sexy shirtless red head?" She llifted the covers and then the pillows as if looking for him, and Gaara grinned amused merely watching her childish display. She never ceased to amuse him. She glanced at him with big hopeful eyes. "Did I mention he was shirtless?" She batted her eyes at him and Gaara rolled his eyes before disappearing and returning a moment later with only a pair of sleeping pants on. He climbed under the covers and was attacked.

"Mmm…" She curled into his body, pressing her nose against his collarbone and kissing his shoulder. She tucked one of her legs in between his and his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. "Hey I got a bonus. I got a sexy, shirtless red head that smells good too!" Her warm breath wafted across his skin and Amelia could feel his chest rumble as a light chuckle left his throat. His grip on her tightened as he cemented her to his body… not that she was complaining. He buried his nose into her hair and whispered huskily.

"Mine." He growled. "My idiot."

Well…at least she was his idiot.


	30. Heartbreak

**I want to thank all of my reviewers! I have officially broken two hundred reviews and that truly is incredible! So thank you all very much!

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Gaaras1Girl- I do love my little bits and pieces of humor that I throw in these things! I'm glad you appreciate it! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Me and Gaara 4ever- Well... this chapter was supposed to be the wedding but unfortuneatly I got a very bad idea and I'm really hoping I get to actually finish this story... providing my loyal readers dont kill me after there done with this chapter.

Gaara-Frenzy- I'm glad you like the humor! My favorite elements in a story are humor, romance, mystery, and just a touch of darkness. This chapter has got an...intresting ending so I hope you enjoy!

Saiyuo12- Thank you very much! I'm glad you have enjoyed it this far!

CloudsOfRabbits- Wow that's a lot of reading in one day! I'm glad you liked it so much! This is one of my favorite stories because of the connection with the Shukaku, I've never read another story where the Shukaku has had such a prominent role.

.Princess- Hahaha! Your wish is my command! *Presents new chapter*

The Celestial Dragon- I do love to pick on Kitty err I mean Kankuro hes just so fun to play with! I'm glad you enjoyed it and enjoy!

Ratsemina- With Amelia, I want her character to be light hearted and free. Dresses, tuxedos and all uncomfortable clothes and such remind her of her father who killed her and tried to kill the Shukaku, plus after living on an island for five years I don't think dresses would be her favorite article of clothing. Plus I think realistically dresses and heels are uncomfortable. As for Gaara I never even noticed the whole tie chocking him, sand suffocating others. As soon as I read it, it made perfect sense...oh the irony! Yes Amelia and Gaara do want each other very much, that is sometimes difficult because Amelia is so playful its hard to keep her serious and still remain in her character but a lot of people liked that scene so I'm assuming I did ok. Kankuro...Kankuro, Kankuro, Kankuro... hes just so much fun to pick on! And its so easy! Temari has got her cooking but Kankuro is just too much fun! The final scene was a lot of fun, I love giving Gaara some of Amelia's playfullness and I think that scene did a good job at accomplishing that but still keeping Gaara (somewhat) in character. I will promise you that the story will not end until I change incomplete to complete and I do that right after I upload the last chapter so no worries there. I will say one thing though...you are going to hate me with a hot fiery passion by the time you read the end of this chapter along with all my other readers, I only ask that you don't kill me. Cussing, throwing sharp pointy objects, all of that is allowed, but no killing...uh other than that enjoy?

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Amelia threw open the door to Gaara's office not bothering to knock and shutting it behind her. She practically skipped around his desk and any annoyance he might have felt vanished. He raised a nonexistent eyebrow. She placed both hands on his desk and bent forward a sly grin crossing her face. Humoring her, he laced his fingers together and placed his elbows on his desk.

"Amelia, what have you done, how much is it gonna cost me, and whose after you?" Gaara's monotone voice spoke perfectly and as laughter poured from her lips he had received his desired effect. She released his desk and plopped down into the chair across from it before crossing her legs and leaning back, a smile still painted across her lips.

"Uh a better question would be what haven't I done and the answer would be you and that will change shortly." She grinned like a Cheshire cat at that one and Gaara rolled his eyes. "Um I'm guessing you'll be pretty worn out so it will cost you energy, and the only person I know that's after me at the moment is the Shukaku, but in my defense…" Amelia was suddenly cut off by her sharp witted husband and still with no emotion he answered her.

"Amelia, the day you have a good defense is the day when Kankuro will escape Temari's wrath." Gaara spoke quietly and immediately Amelia's grin grew. She pretended to do some false calculations in her head, even tracing numbers in the air and Gaara rolled his eyes and shook his head, but never-the-less, still gave her his full attention. She smiled as if triumphant and turned back towards him.

"Well let's see, if I keep chasing the fat bastard like I do, he shall have lost enough weight, providing Temari cooks and he eats as little as possible in three weeks." She seemed so proud of herself and Gaara chuckled. Only could she successfully bash his two siblings all in the same sentence. Her smile suddenly grew as she remembered something. "Alright well enough joking! I have a reason for forging the hot sun to be here today! Pak kun arrived this morning with a message; all of our friends from Konoha will be present for our wedding tomorrow. Even Jiraiya and Tsunade are going to be here! How awesome is that? I guess they all decided to pack up and leave."

"…They are all coming?" Amelia frowned as she turned to look at Gaara. She knew right from the get go that they were all going to come, but Gaara seemed like he was in a state of shock, almost like his mind had trouble processing that information. Amelia's frown grew. She knew she could never understand the pain and the suffering he went through as a child, and she would not insult him by trying. She knew concepts like friendship and love were foreign to him, and sometimes by the way he treated her, she forgot that this was all new to him.

When she stood up, the creak of the chair seemed to echo in the now silent room. Gaara's head snapped to attention. Amelia walked slowly around his desk. She slowly approached him like one might a frightened animal. Slowly she crawled up into his lap. She curled her body so she fit perfectly against him. She wrapped her fingers into the material of the front of his shirt and bushed her nose into his neck. Gaara wrapped his arms around her still wondering as to why all those people would be coming for a simple ceremony, but not wanting her to fall. She nuzzled into his neck.

"I love you Sabaku no Gaara." Just because she couldn't understand it, didn't mean she wasn't going to try to help him understand. She offered him comfort and that was invaluable to Gaara. He squeezed her tightly to him, breathing in her exotic scent. He closed his eyes and for a brief moment he willed his body to relax. For a good twenty minutes they remained like that, the poor chair groaned in protest but the two remained cemented together. Gaara would have been content the rest of his days if they could stay like forever, but alas this is not the way the world works.

Amelia pulled her head back and smiled brightly at him. Her green eyes sparkled in a way that made Gaara's heart melt. She kissed the tip of his nose before pressing her forehead against his. Gaara couldn't help but to smile back at her. It was her playful nature that held his heart. Those lips had never bitten at him. Her tongue had never lashed out at him; her nails had never clawed at him. She was his. Kind, loving, compassionate, and his…all his.

Gaara kissed her, his arms restricting around her as he crushed her to him. She smiled into his mouth as she kissed him back, her arms swiftly moving up his chest to broad shoulders. Amelia pulled away only when she was out of breath, her chest heaved with effort to regain air and Gaara seemed just as out of breath. His arms tightened around her and she rested her head on his chest as his fingers gently ran through her dark locks.

"I love you Amelia. More than you will ever know." His words were enough to send a smile sweeping across her young face. She nuzzled her face into his chest. She could feel his strong heart beating against his rib cage, it filled her with happiness, and showing how strong the bond between them truly was, Gaara read her mind once more. "It beats for you Amelia. Nothing else." Gaara never lied, Amelia had become his everything, without her he had no purpose. He would have no reason to exist.

"If you keep saying things like that, I don't think I'll ever be able to leave my love." As if to confirm her statement she managed to burrow herself farther into him, and his warm embrace. He could feel her warm breath drift beneath his shirt and softly tickle his collarbone. He loved when she was this close to him. In a way he thought if he could keep her this close she would become a part of him, much like the sand he wielded. It was childish yes, but he wanted her with him always.

"Maybe I don't want you to leave." He tightened his hold as if to prove his point, Amelia arched her back so she was looking at her fiancé in the eyes and she touched the tip of his nose with his index finger. Gaara gave her his full attention.

"I would love to stay curled up to you all day but if we decided to do that we never would have left the bed and two I can't I have to go make all the last minute calls. In case you forgot I'm getting married to this absolutely stunning red head tomorrow and I gotta make sure everything's in perfect order so that way all his little fan girls can watch envious as I parade past them!" She smiled teasing him lightly and Gaara chuckled. "But once you get home I promise you we can do all the cuddling you want." She gave him an Eskimo kiss and then a real kiss. She hopped off of his lap and headed towards the door. "See you tonight Gaara, I love you!" She shut the door and Gaara resumed his work, and then suddenly, he froze.

A knowing creeping feeling slowly worked its way up his spine. It was the same feeling he got when he was a child and an assassin was about to strike. Something bad was about to happen. Gaara's head snapped up to look at the door and was on his feet in an instant. Wedding be damned Amelia was staying with him today, even if he had to tie her up himself.

Amelia laughed as the receptionist made a passable imitation of Kankuro as they joked about the puppeteer. She waved goodbye as she walked out of the building and onto the streets, she paused allowing her eyes to adjust to the fierce sunlight. She blinked several times and glanced across the street, Temari and Kankuro were there, no doubt, or at least Amelia hoped they had come to help her with her wedding plans. She stepped out of the shade and into the sunlight and then everything slowed down, Gaara came through one of the doors to his office and Amelia began crossing the street. A loud bang pierced through the silence and Amelia turned.

Gaara and his siblings watched as the bullet pierced Amelia's forehead and she fell. She hit the ground like a lead weight and remained motionless. Gaara's heart plummeted to his stomach along with every coherent thought in his brain. Temari and Kankuro stood silent in shock. The civilians stared on in horror and shock as blood began to pool around the island girls head.

"Stand back! I'm a medic!" A woman recovered first and dropped to Amelia's side, two more followed her. Gaara ran forward and quickly Kankuro and Temari momentarily pushed there feeling aside and grabbed there younger brothers arms in an attempt to restrain him. They had to use heavy amounts of chakra to accomplish it.

"No!" If anyone had doubted Gaara's love towards Amelia before they doubted nothing now. His cries were the screams of a broken man, a broken man who watched as his world began to crumble due to a gun shot wound in the center of his beloved's forehead. "Amelia!"


	31. Sea of White

Azura Soul Reaver- Sadly there is no Gaara in this chapter, it focuses solely on Amelia. Thank you for the review and I hope you like it.

The Celestial Dragon- Yes it was not a good day for Amelia. I can almost gaurntee that you will like the ending of this chapter much better. Thank you for the review and please enjoy!

girlX901- Please dont hate me! I promise the story gets better and happier. It wont stay sad forever I promise! Never the less I still thank you for the review! It helped gave me motivation to keep writing!

Ratsemina- (Cowers in the corner being fearful of Animestars wrath) Oh I had to put a twist on the story! Nothings happened in awhile and this will put a huge err...well I cant give everything away! You will just have to wait and see. I'm glad you were smiling and enjoying the beginning of the chapter. The beginning was supposed to give the vibe of two people who were madly in love, so I'm glad it accomplished its goal. The ending I will say honestly is no dream, it was never a dream and hopefully it will not be a dream. I really hope that you enjoy this chapter, I'm sure you will better than the last one, I already have a big twist coming for this story. As always thank you very much for your review. Enjoy this chapter and please put all weapons away!

taylorxtourniquet- Thank you for the review and I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out if Gaara went ballistic! This chapter focuses more on Amelia, but Gaara will play a big role in the next chapter.

CloudsOfRabbits- I'm sorry I made you cry! It was not my true intention I swear! I'm also sad that Red Balloons did not fit the chapter but theres nothing I can do about the latter. Thank you for the review which I'm thankful held no death threats! Oh and enjoy!

invisible-gurl- I never ever stated that Amelia died! Now I never said she lived either but none the less! Thank you for the review and please dont kill me till you have at least read this chapter!

Gaaras1Girl- Well I'm glad you enjoyed that line. Its one of my favorite lines to use and I'm glad someone else appreciates it! I swear nothing has darkened my soul and I am no fiend! I dont want to spoil what i have planned or I would tell you more but sadly I cannot! Just wait until you read this and the next chapter and if you still wish to shank me you may!

Gaara Frenzy- Why thank you very much! You are one of the few reviewers who didn't threaten to kill me! That made me exceedingly happy! I promise the story will get periodically happier but you have to be patient!

DarkSpiritDemon- No need to apologize! You dont have to review every chapter if you just now found it! I'm just glad you enjoyed it! Thats the only reason I write these things is for others to enjoy. So first off thank you for the review! I put guns in Naruto for simplicity's sake. The thought process is they have the technology, it just dosent stand a chance against chakra and its also a very honorless way to kill somebody. I'm glad you mentioned that. Surprisingly you were the only one.

aquamarine-acaia- Thank you for the review and you will have to keep reading to find out what happens to Amelia!

redtippedquill- I'm really scared I cant tell if your review was good or bad!

Syntethic-Darkness- I'm sorry please dont hate me! And I never said she died...I said she was shot... theres a differece ;) Your review made me feel horrible! I felt really bad, BUT I promise it will get better you just gotta stick with me!

.Princess.- Yes I know I'm cruel! Thank you for the review and I promise it will get better!

Akizu Miko- That wasn't one of those "Im going to kill you while you sleep stares" was it? I'm getting really scared some of my readers are really pissed.

|x| |x|- I really hope I got your username right and I'm really sorry if I didn't! Thank you for the review and please enjoy!

UnForGettable323- Well I cant make the entire story rainbows and unicorns, some bad stuff has to happen to the characters but I promise it will get better!

reviewgiver- (Flinches from the angry glare) I-I promise it will get happier! I shouldn't have hell to pay because I updated right?

bloodshadows- Going off on me is understandable I would have done the same to anyone who dared end a chapter where I ended mine. I'm glad you like it so far thank you for the awesome review and please enjoy!

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I have always hated the darkness. The element was my worst fear. After I was ripped away from The Shukaku I was locked in darkness, I had to bleed to become free, and I ran, I died saving my only friend in the darkness and the thought of leaving the Shukaku all alone, the thought of leaving him and succumbing to the darkness had scared me more than anything, but the darkness overcame me, it was the last thing I saw before I died.

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Amelia's eyes snapped open and her lungs desperately sucked in air, her pretty eyes widening in fear s she did this. Burning pain shot through her lungs and she coughed and hacked, spitting out blood on the white floor. She desperately tried to keep warm… wait, white floor? Amelia looked to her right and then her left, her long hair falling over her shoulder. There was nothing around her nothing but an endless sea of white. She pushed herself up off the floor, blinking her eyes as the light burned them. They quickly adjusted and she slowly pushed herself up to her feet. She was incredibly dizzy and not at all coordinated, what had happened to her? And where was she?

After she regained herself she looked again. There was nothing in any direction, it was just solid white. She felt something brush against her leg and looked down. She was in the white silk dress. The one she had been wearing when she first met the Shukaku and she frowned. This wasn't right was it? She wasn't wearing this when she went to sleep… did she even go to sleep? Amelia's head began to pound and she groaned rubbing her temples. Suddenly her vision blurred and she stumbled. Amelia tried to grasp onto something, but of course there was nothing in this sea of white, she fell to the ground and lay still, once more unconscious.

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Amelia's game. That's what he had always referred to it as. Amelia's game. The Shukaku named it after me for three reasons. One because of its simplicity, two because I would beg him to play it with me, and three because it was the first fun thing that he ever did with me.

The rules to the game were simple. The Shukaku would curl up in a ball in the cave he had claimed was his lair, rest his tail over his eyes and count to one hundred. I had one hundred seconds to find a hiding place, blend in and wait. As soon as the Shukaku reached zero, the hour began. He had an hour to find me. If he won I became his slave for the day, if I won he became mine.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of times we had played the stupid game, I only won once. I had attempted to hide almost everywhere. In the air, beneath the ground, underwater, in some of the caves, he always found me, until one day when I happened to chance upon a cave. It was tiny and even I had to crawl on hands and knees to make it successfully inside. After what I assumed was about twenty feet, the cave suddenly widened into massive proportions. It was so massive, it almost made me dizzy. I remember wondering if I was underground.

For a good forty minutes I did nothing but stare in shock at the sheer size of the cave. It was bigger than even the Shukaku's. I remember wondering who made it and why? It made no sense to me, and I was confused, and then everything happened at once. The ground began to shake and rumble, my first thought was earthquake. There was a massive earthquake occurring and the roof would surely cave in and I would die. This was surely the end for me, I fell from the sheer force of the shaking and barely managed to roll out of the way as a huge chunk of rock fell from the roof and shattered as it hit the ground with dizzying speeds, and then everything ceased.

I blinked once as everything stopped and shakily got to my feet. Earthquakes were never that short, as if to prove my point, a blood red paw that could have easily squished about forty of me slammed to the solid ground. Another quickly joined it, and the piercing red eyes stared from the darkness as the fox-like head ventured out into the sunlight. I stumbled back; more terrified then I had been in a long time.

"Well, well, well… it seems a snack has found its way into my humble domain. Tell me girl where are you from? I want to know if your meat is a delicacy or of common blood." The massive beast hissed as he stalked forward into the light. The nine-tails swished in the air in all direction seeming to have a mind of there own. I was too terrified to say anything. My mind was blank, not a single coherent thought was processed. The creature narrowed its eyes and snarled. "I asked you a question you stupid girl!" He roared and the impact of his voice alone caused me to fall. The creature slowly paced towards me, savoring my fear. When he paused, his head lifting into the air, along with his ears. The hissing of something caught both his and my attention. It sounded like snakes, thousands and thousands of snakes. Out of instinct I turned around.

It came from the small tunnel that I had crawled through and I backed up several paces, I wasn't sure which I should be more afraid of, the noise or the nine tailed fox. Suddenly an endless stream of sand burst from the small opening and faster than anything I had ever seen, The Shukaku stood in all his massive glory and despite the fact that he was much taller than the fox, he lunged at the fox and had the massive beast pinned beneath his weight, even the fox looked surprised.

"Impossible." The deep, angry voice of the fox hissed between fangs that could impale twenty men in one bite. Its tails attempted to grab the Shukaku but the sand easily bound the piece of the fox and held the tails in place. The Shukaku merely snarled his own tail drooped low to the ground in anger, and his own ears lay flat against his head.

"Listen to me you fleabag, no good piece of shit." The Shukaku hissed his golden eyes flashing anger. His head was so low that his muzzle almost touched the foxes. "If you even so much as glance at her again I will not be afraid to start a war with you, and if you kill her, I will make sure I take you with me to hell." The Shukaku snarled, his voice dripping venom. Never had Amelia seen him so angry. For a minute neither demon spoke and finally the fox snorted.

Shukaku released the fox and with heavy footfalls approached me. Tears leaked from the corner of my eyes, betraying my will. I reached out for him instinctively, he allowed me to hug his muzzle to the best of my ability, and he made us disappear in a whirlwind of sand. The nine-tailed fox lay on his side watching the place that the two had just stood; his red eyes were narrowed in confusion. Was it love that made him so strong?

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Amelia's eyes flew open once more, this time she sat straight up, ignoring the pounding sensation in her head. There was nothing. Nothing but the endless sea of white. In frustration she pulled at her hair and scrambled to her feet. Desperately she searched in every direction before she started walking. Glimpses of strange memories floating to her head. She was holding hands with someone, she couldn't see there face but they had undeniable red hair. Now she was laughing with him.

Amelia moved a little faster not doing a light jog. She felt nothing, but devotion, love, and respect for the strange red haired man, but she could not see his face, she could not remember his face. He was holding her with great care and a gentleness that made her heart swell. She still could not see his face. Now she was running.

She knew she loved this man, she knew she loved him more than anything in the world, she saw him propose to her, she saw herself accept his proposal. Her heart beat faster to keep up with the love that was overflowing her heart; she could not remember his name and tears ran down her face. She knew in that moment she could have died for him without a second thought.

Wait…died? It all came rushing back to her, his face his name, every memory… Gaara… love… aquamarine… Gaara… fiance… red hair… Gaara… bullet… death… gunshot… Gaara… Gaara... Gaara. As her overloaded brain continued to go on a path of disorganized thought, she stepped over the edge of what was the sea of white. Amelia screamed as she fell, desperately clawing and scratching for anything that would break her fall.

A black marble floor gleamed up at her, clearly awaiting her unavoidable death. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't see the impact. The scream was abruptly ended as her body slammed into the marble and every single bone in her body broke simultaneously.

Amelia's eyes snapped open. She jolted awake as though she had been having a nightmare. She was met with a dark hospital room, and outside the window she could see the dark streets of Sunagakure.


	32. How Time Flys

Me and Gaara 4ever- I've never been one for a sad ending, so most likely this will end happy, I don't make promises, I don't plan out my stories, I write them as they come to me so this could end anyway... thank you for the review and enjoy!

The Celestial Dragon- Aww! I love huggles! Huggles back! This one you will like even more! More good stuff happens here... and as a bonus you find out who tried to kill her! Dun dun dun!

DarkSpiritDemon- To answer the first question, I knew she wasn't gonna die (I'm a sucker for happy endings) To answer your second question it is possible to survive being shot in the head. If you miss enough of the brain, you can survive :) I thought the nine tails would add a fun twist to this story, and that will (most likely) come up later in the story! Thank you for the review and enjoy!

Gaara-frenzy- I love playing with the memories on The Shukaku's Island a lot of people seem to like that concept so I'm glad you enjoy it! You'll find out about both the Shukaku and Gaara in this chapter... so please enjoy!

Gaaras1Girl- You find out what happened to Amelia, Gaara, and the Shukaku in this chapter! So ponder no more! Thank you for the lovely review and please enjoy!

UnForGettable323- I actually considered binding Amelia with the Shukaku for a really long time, I threw that idea around and played with it and as much as I love that idea I think it would give Amelia to much power, especially since she has such a strong bond with the demon. So I reluctantly axed the idea. I hope you lke what I have done and thank you for the lovely review and please enjoy!

CloudsOfRabbits- Aww I'm glad I could make your day! Shukaku, little sand baby? I may have to use that later on in the story that really made me smile! You wouldn't mind would you? Thank you for the review and...of crap! I almost forgot! You don't have to read with an angry face because she really did make up this time so enjoy!

.Princess- That where I got the idea for the last chapter. It was like one of those weird dreams where you feel like your falling and you jolt awake... that was my inspiration for Amelia! Thank you for the lovely review and please enjoy!

reviewgiver- There is no need to apologize! Many of my readers were upset! I expect angry remarks when I choose to do something vial to a main character! If I didn't get them I would be conserned that my readers weren't being truthful! Thank you for the lovely review and please enjoy!

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As Amelia pushed herself up, a rush of pain met her head and she gasped out and clenched her eyes shut, her hands instinctively intertwining with her hair. She knew she was awake now. She leaned back in the pillows and waited for the splitting migraine to subside, when it had calmed down enough for her to focus on other things, she opened her eyes. Wires were shoved into her arms and wires were attached to her chest in various places, with a growl, she ripped the tubes from her arms and pulled the stickers off her chest. Vaguely she heard the heart monitor beep but didn't think anything of it. She stood up feeling incredibly weak but shook it off and tugged off the medical gown, putting on the pair of pants and the tank top that had been left by the bed. She needed to find Gaara.

The door slammed open and Amelia's heart leapt to her throat, automatically thinking it was Gaara, she whirled around and was shocked to see Naruto… dressed in the Kazekage's robes. The sight knocked her on her ass and she sat down in the chair beside her bed. Naruto's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor.

"Oh my God… Amelia is that really you?" Naruto barely whispered into the silent room and Amelia looked up at him. He seemed so shell-shocked and she couldn't bring forth any memory of when he had actually whispered… Amelia couldn't even believe that Naruto knew how to whisper. She numbly shook her head, now thoroughly confused and he suddenly darted forward, scooped her up, and crushed her in a hug, despite her confusion, she embraced the blonde back. "I can't believe your ok!" Naruto's voice cracked and as he set her down tears immediately leaked from the corner of his blue eyes and Amelia.

"How long have I been asleep, I know I was shot in the head but…" Amelia trailed off as she sat on the edge of the bed. Naruto squatted in front of her and grabbed her hands, despite the exhaustion he could see on her face, her emerald eyes were calculating and level headed. "Naruto, where's is my love? Where is Gaara, and why are you dressed in the Kazekage robes?"

"Slow down Amelia, you have been in a coma for a year and a half." Naruto watched as her jaw fell and her eyes widened. She had slept for that long? "On the day you were shot, you were rushed into the hospital and underwent eight hours of extensive surgery. You lapsed into a coma and the doctors thought you would never awaken… Gaara… well Gaara was destroyed, he may not have showed it very well but you really were his life Amelia. You meant everything to him. I have never seen Gaara fall apart like he did. I stayed at the hospital with him for three days, he refused to leave, the doctors finally managed to convince him to go home and get some rest.

"He stayed?… A year and a half?" Her brain was still trying to process the information he had given her so he patiently waited while Amelia calmly gathered her thoughts, after a minute she swallowed and looked at the blonde. "Go on Naruto." Her voice was deceptively calm, not giving away the chaos inside of her mind.

"Now where Gaara is and why I'm wearing the Kazekage robes is the same answer." At the look of absolute terror in her eyes, he quickly reassured her. "No Gaara isn't dead. When the Shukaku found out that you were shot, he went mad with rage. He grew to astronomical proportions, calling from strength that no one knew he possessed, he began killing and destroying anyone and anything in his path. Even the Kyubi didn't wish to fight him." Amelia's eyes widened considerably. "Gaara spent a week keeping him at bay out in the sand, until eventually he had no choice he managed to coral the demon up North into the snow, but he's the only one that can keep the Shukaku at bay. Before he left he managed to send Kankuro asking if I would fill in the role as Kazekage until he returned… that was the last anyone had heard from him." Naruto finished quietly.

Amelia closed her eyes and slumped down, she rested her elbows on her knees and just breathed for a moment, despite the blonde's obnoxious streak, he knew his best friend's girl needed a moment to regain herself. She sighed before a glimmer caught her eye. She blinked and opened her eyes, lifting her head slightly. There on her ring finger glittered the engagement ring that Gaara had offered her. Tears filled her green eyes as she sat up once more, she held her hand up and admired the glittering diamonds. She closed her eyes urging the tears to leave her eyes. When they opened again Naruto saw a fierce determination in her green orbs.

"Naruto I'm going to need some riding boots and the ever masterful puppeteer that is my fiancés brother." Amelia looked directly into Naruto's eyes; he stood up and shook his head, folding his arms just like Gaara used to do.

"No way in hell am I letting you go in the condition you are in. If you missed the memo you just slept for the past year a half!" Naruto glared down at her before adding. "Not to mention Gaara would tear my head from my body, mount it on a stick, and display it proudly for all the public to see." Naruto snorted and Amelia stood up. She grabbed Naruto's hand and placed it on her chest. Naruto blushed and felt the pounding of her heart beneath his fingertips.

"Naruto, I am asking you as a friend. The Shukaku will not listen to reason, if I don't go, anyone else you send will just be a sacrifice. My Gaara is fighting the beast even now, and I love him Naruto. I have to go to my husband, he needs my help. I am taking Kankuro because I trust him with my life, he will let no harm come to me." She paused. "My heart has no reason to beat unless Gaara is near." He could hear her heart beating strong against his palm. He dropped his hand and stepped out of her way.

"I will send Kankuro down to the stables; he will be there in fifteen minutes. Take your time getting there Amelia… at least give me that oh and one more thing." Amelia paused at the doorway, Naruto bit his lip, obviously debating whether to tell her or not. "We haven't found the man that shot you but we know who it is… it's the reincarnation of your father." Amelia's eyes widened and her jaw went shock. Every coherent thought dropped from her mind. "Gaara needs you Amelia… go." Amelia didn't need to be told twice.

Amelia had finished fixing up two horses when she heard the stable doors be thrown open. She jumped and stepped out of the stall. Kankuro stood painting, without war paint in just the black jumpsuit; he had obviously rushed getting here. Amelia smiled but before she could say anything Kankuro was at her side and had crushed her into a hug.

"Amelia!" In a burst of happiness, he spun her around and she laughed, how many times had they done this? He set her down, crushing her into his much taller frame, and Amelia was elated until she felt him shaking. When she pulled away, the puppeteer had tears brimming in his eyes and Amelia frowned and quickly wiped them away. "We didn't think you would ever wake up Amelia." Kankuro's voice began to crack and Amelia offered him a weak smile.

"I'm awake now Kankuro, and I don't plan on going anywhere." Amelia spoke softly. Kankuro nodded and took all of a few seconds to regain himself before he nodded. "Now c'mon we need to get out of here! The town will be waking up at any minute!" Kankuro nodded and helped Amelia onto the silver steed while he took the chocolate-coated one. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright Amelia… lets bring my brother home." Kankuro grinned at the dark haired girl who grinned back and had urged the horse forward with a strong nudge the horse came to life and flew off across Sunagakure, with Kankuro right behind her.


	33. Go

Me and Garaa 4ever- Well its not exactly soon but I did update! Please enjoy and thank you for the review!

Gaara-Frenzy- Ugh me too. I cant stand the snow I dont see why everybody else loves it so much I just freeze...anyway thank you for the review and please enjoy the chapter!

redtippedquill- Sorry it took so long! Stupid school! Anyway please enjoy this chapter and thank you!

DarkSpiritDemon- It has been a year and a half. Naruto only stepped in because it was kinda difficult to Gaara to do paperwork and battle the Shukaku at the same time if you know what I mean ;) Anywho I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for the review!

Gaaras1Girl-I know a year and a half would mess you up for the rest of your life but a day and a half just isnt that suspenseful, plus there is a slight explanation for her awakening, as for Gaara and the Shukaku you will just have to read to find out! Thank you for the wonderful review and please enjoy!

UnForGettable323- Thank you very much! I'm afraid this one leaves on a cliffhanger as well so you may not like me too much after this one!

The Celestial Dragon- As much as Amelia would appreciate you taking out her dad, I believe your going to have to fight the Shukaku and Gaara for that position. You will have to read on and see how Gaara and Shukaku react to her ;)

Saiyuo12-Thank you very much and enjoy!

ratsemina- I doubt I would ever make Amelia die. She is one of my favorite characters to play with, I think I might hate myself if I did that so I doubt you have to worry there, but it could be a small possibility, I do plan on wrapping this story up pretty soon. Most of my readers seem to love the flashbacks of Amelia and the demon and I couldnt really think of a better spot to stick them so you got a couple there, stumbling on the Kyuubi was merely thrown in there for fun, I'm glad you liked it though! Yep I thought it would be nice foreshadowing event to have Naruto replace Gaara while hes preoccupied by the demon (Begins whistling innocently) As I said before this will probably end happily so... no telling where Naruto will end up ;) As for Gaara, the Shukaku, and Amelia... you will just have to read on to see!

.Princess- Thank you very much and please enjoy!

writingnonstop- I shot Amelia for suspense purposes and thank you I'm glad you have enjoyed it thus far!

reviewgiver- Well since the chapter before the last was told in Amelias point of view I figured it would stay that way ;) Thank you for the review and I'm sure most of my readers hate Amelia's father.

Angel of Randomosity- Thank you very much! Yes you are allowed to bring up the torches and pitchforks to kill Amelia's father ;)

Mariana Lestrange- I agree there are very few stories that do little more than mention the Shukaku and I wanted to make him a leading roll, my inspiration actually came from King Kong. I'm very glad you have enjoyed it thus far and thank you for the review!

YourRegularDecoratedEmergency- Thank you very much! Please enjoy!

Deathcomessoon- Aww thank you very much I hope you continue to enjoy it!

AhhMyLife- Thank you very much and thank you for the lovely review please enjoy!

DeadlyMistress- You will have to read on to figure out if Gaara lives or dies. Thank you for the review and please enjoy!

* * *

If you knew that your entire reason of existence was in trouble or in danger of dying what would you do? If you knew that even if you could get there in time that the chances of there being a happy ending were slim to none, would you try, or would you merely let fate take its toll? Would you believe in that hope or would you let it fade and die and sit in your nice cozy house, hoping for the best? Go.

The large creaking sounds of the gates of Sunagakure echoed into the air as Kankuro and Amelia rocketed out of the gates, the horses having perfected the art of running in the uneven terrain now found immense enjoyment of rocketing over the sand filled dunes. Within mere minutes the proud city disappeared far behind them. It was now that Kankuro had decided it would be best to talk to Amelia. He urged his horse to run beside the thin girls own so she would be able to hear him shout.

"Amelia! How is it that you have neither brain damage nor permanent muscle damage? I'm no medical ninja but I know in a coma like state you can only remain for so long before your body slowly begins to break down." Kankuro glanced at the unique girl and he watched amused as a coy smile crossed her face, her eyes quickly darted over to him.

"You forget Kankuro, my best friend is the Shukaku, and although the demons are known for powers of destruction and chaos they are almost as powerful at healing, very few people know of this side and even less can actually get the demons to use it, despite the fact that the Shukaku thought I wasn't going to awaken he still tried. He sent small microbes into my body that produced enough thought process and blood to my brain to keep my stable it also made my muscles clench and unclench keeping some sort of memory muscle in them. He can probably explain it better than I can, it still doesn't mean I'm perfectly unscathed, I'm obviously going to have to work hard to regain even a semblance of actual useful strength, its taking what's little of my strength to remain on the damned horse." Amelia leaned closer to the stallion's neck breathing into its ears, and whispering quiet gentle words to the beast.

If the one you loved was in true danger, could you rest? Could you pause on your way to them? Could you handle yourself if it meant you would have a much better chance of saving them in the end? Or would you become too lost in paranoia and what if scenarios and eventually break down? What would you do? Would you pause and regain your strength or would you continue without rest? Go.

"Amelia we need to stop. The desert sun is far too hard on the horses they wont be able to make the journey in this heat! We need to rest until nightfall. They could use the water and the food as well. I know a town about five miles from here." Kankuro looked over at his almost sister and she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, her teeth digging into her lip, as she shook her head no.

"We cannot Kankuro! We cannot afford to waste the day it may take several more days to get there and we might already be too late. If Shukaku was upset enough to become the bloodthirsty monster that he became after my death the first time how do you think he would be the second time? I'm shocked as hell that all of Sunagakure wasn't destroyed as it is!" Amelia shouted back but Kankuro glared and his voice became hard.

"The damned beast did, the only reason he was subdued at all was because Gaara used his strong connection to the beast in order to lure him away from Sunagakure. Quite obviously at great personal risk, I was rather shocked at how focused he became especially since his thoughts were so solely focused on you. I imagine if the Shukaku defeats Gaara, the beast will destroy anything and everything in its path and we will all be doomed. Nevertheless, we still need rest were not going up against inexperienced ninja. Were fighting against a goddamn demon!" Kankuro snapped.

"No! Kankuro despite your brother's seemingly unlimited strength he cannot continue fighting forever! He's going to eventually run out of chakra and the Shukaku will kill him! We have to get there before that happens! I have already lost him once Kankuro and I will not loose him again!" As if feeling her emotions the horse beneath her reared slightly and Kankuro took the opportunity to cut her horse off completely.

"Which is precisely why we need to rest, if we charge in exhausted, one we will be useless in battle and two Gaara will stress even more than he probably already is! Just a few hours Amelia and we will get to him. I promise you I will let nothing happen to my little brother, just please… trust me." Amelia's eyes filled with tears at Kankuro proclamation but she nodded a few leaking down her cheeks. Kankuro's eyes softened but he said nothing and together they took off into the town.

Despite your own permanent or temporary weaknesses, could you press on through any obstacles any danger, any situation to reach the one you loved? Could you forget about your entire well being to reach them? Could you make such a sacrifice? Go.

The horses were left far behind as the terrain turned from dirt to snow. The horses would sink under there own weight much less there weight and that of a rider. Amelia scrambled to keep the cloak around her shivering body and Kankuro remained closer than normal worried for her well-being. She stumbled and fell and Kankuro hoisted her onto his back.

"I have a feeling that you are the one that is going to need the energy when we get there. Stay there I'll use chakra to get us there as quickly as I can. I can already sense the Shukaku's energy can't you?" He looked over his shoulder at the emerald eyes of Amelia. They were steeled and determined. She didn't need to answer him verbally he knew. She could probably feel Gaara now as well. He only hoped she wouldn't get sick, her body was still incredibly weak. It was probably very very stupid to bring her but then again she was probably the only one who could get through to both the demon and Gaara. And of course, Kankuro had always been known for doing stupid things. A grin crossed his face as he thought of that.

"Go up that hill Kankuro they are right beyond it. I can feel it in my bones." Her voice was soft and quiet. She was calm and collected, perfect for what could very quickly become a life or death situation. He panted the last few feet of the hill and set her down. The sight before him was breath taking in the most dangerous way.

The Shukaku stood menacingly over the entire canyon, snow and sand whirled around him in an angry pattern while his mouth was pulled back over his teeth, as an angry snarl was a continuous noise from his throat. Gaara stood strong but worn. His eyes had thick black rings that could have put the ones from his younger days to shame. His robes were tattered and torn blowing up in the wind around him. His eyes seemed torn between reflecting concentration, exhaustion and anger. Then the Shukaku moved sending g a tidal wave of sand straight at the noble Kazekage. He didn't even try to move. He merely closed his eyes in defeat.

So what would you do? Would you run in and save your beloved at the very possible price of your own life? Could you stand and watch hopelessly as they were annihilated in front of your very eyes? Could you risk your life for the one that you love? Go.


	34. Shukaku

aquamarine-acaia- I know Im sorry! Im a horrible person! I apologize! And I dont believe I had a werewolf story at all so I dont think so.

Gaaras1Girl- Im so sorry it took me so long to update! This is the first happy one in awhile though :)

Me and Gaara 4ever- Thank you very much and enjoy!

Deathcomessoon- I have been insanely busy with homework Ive been lucky to get anything out... but after much long wait, here is the next chapter!

DarkSpiritDemon- Thank you very much! Please enjoy the next chapter!

The Celestial Dragon- Oh come now! Do you really think Amelia would let Gaara die? ;)

CloudsOfRabbits- Well Im glad you enjoyed it but please dont beat me with a bat! I o my very best not to leave you guys with a cliffhanger but sometimes I just cant help it!

waitinangelofdeath- Thank you! Please enjoy this chapter as well!

Angel of Randomosity- (Puts a pot on my head and holds a spoon in defense) Please dont murder me for leaving you on a cliffhanger! I know the Shukaku and Gaara are idiots for giving up on Amelia but I need my fingers to continue writing!

Lost Blonde- Im sorry I left it on a cliffhanger... but here is the next installment!

Gaara-Frenzy- Yes ma'am Gaara shall be saved! (Begins typing frantically!) Thank you for the lovely review and enjoy!

heartlessrayne-I will always continue my stories it just may take awhile for them to come out :)

UnForGettable323- I am so sorry! I did my best to update, but my marine biology teacher would not let up on homework! I am deeply sorry! Please enjoy this extremely late update!

AwestruckingAmy123- Im so very glad you have enjoyed it thus far! I hope you like this chapter as well!

. Princess- Thank you for the lovely review and enjoy!

Kaulitz-Twins-Fangirl- Hahaha! Way to sacrifice Kankuro! Your review made me laugh a much needed laugh so thank you and enjoy the chapter!

Samwich-520= I do my best to complete my stories, they just sometimes take me awhile! Thank you very much for the review and enjoy!

redamiB6147- Yes I do plan on continuing this story, although I cannot give days on when the next chapters will be out, school is killing me at the moment. Thank you for the lovely compliments, they truly make writing this worth while! I do hope you continue to enjoy this story and thank you again!

* * *

"Amelia!" Kankuro's shout was taken away by the fierce wind as the female raced towards his exhausted brother. Gaara's eyes fluttered shut as a small smile crossed his lips. Gaara had accepted his death, this was where he was supposed to die, something warm pressed up against him and then a pure blast of thousands of particles of sand flew past him, it sounded like a thousand waves crashing against the rocky tide, and then as suddenly as it started it stopped, and Gaara heard not a sound.

There was no more shifting of sand no more furious shouts no more icy cold, just a silence and the warmth against the length of his body. Almost terrified to open his eyes he took in a deep steadying breath before slowly peeling open aquamarine orbs. He was met with an all too familiar face, one that made his heart skip several beats, and he wondered why he hadn't let the Shukaku kill him long ago.

"I die and you're the first one I see Amelia, perhaps fate is kind." Gaara mumbled beneath his breath as he stroked her cheek. Her emerald eyes flickered with pain as tears brimmed the corners of her pretty emerald orbs. "Do not cry love, we are together once more." Gaara murmured and crushed her small body to his, he relished in the warmth that flooded through him.

Neither the Shukaku, nor Kankuro could hear what Gaara had said, but they had witnessed the sand. When she had launched herself at Gaara, the sand had left Shukakus control as if recognizing her and it parted like the red sea, shooting out and around them. It now lay useless scattered in long streaks on either side of the Kazekage or his fiancé.

"Gaara…" Her voice cracked and she had to take a deep breath, he looked so tired, so absolutely…broken. "Gaara, my love, you are not dead, look at me, I'm alive and well I came to find you. Sunagakure needs you, I need you, we need to go home!" Her voice was soft and his aquamarines fluttered shut before opening once more. He smiled down at her briefly before collapsing into her.

Together they hit the sand, his body unconscious on top of hers. The Shukaku had bounded to her side in an instant and was helping hoist the unconscious red head onto his back before hugging Amelia tightly. She smiled sadly and hugged the demon back, praying he would no longer harm Gaara.

"Please Shukaku it is not Gaara's fault, he is not the one that has brought harm to me. Do not blame him I beg of you." Her voice was soft she was tired herself; The Shukaku said nothing but nodded once. Kankuro rushed over to the group. Shukaku bristled but Amelia stroked behind his ears and he relaxed. He looked worried over at his younger brother.

"Is he alright… are you alright?" He looked at the small girl who had already climbed up onto the Shukakus back. She nodded quickly and readjusted herself, moving Gaara so he was propped up against her. She hugged his waist tightly and his head lolled to the right now resting on her chest.

"Yes I believe he is overly exhausted though, we need to go Kankuro, and I need to get him home." He nodded and moved to turn around, but with a snort the Shukaku threw him onto his back with the use of his tail and snorted, Amelia smiled and stroked the beast's neck. He shook his head back and forth and began running across the snow, surprisingly fast for the chubby demon and Amelia smiled.

"Thank you Shukaku." Amelia whispered to him.

"Ya well don't get used to it." Amelia giggled at his irritated tone, and the demon grunted. "Stupid girl." Amelia smiled but said nothing more, within two days, the Shukaku had made the journey back to Sunagakure, and Amelia stopped him. He paused irritated and Kankuro looked confused as well.

"Please Shukaku, he needs to rest, if we take him through the front gate all of Sunagakure, will wish to see him, he needs his rest and to be honest so do I. Let him rest a few days please." Her soft voice was pleading, and the Shukaku grunted before tossing the puppeteer from his back, he landed with a rather ungraceful thump in the sand grumbling beneath his breath.

"Boy, tell Naruto he can head home if he would like, I need to get these two home." With that, the demon disappeared in a whirl of sand that made a beeline for the Kazekage's mansion. Kankuro groaned and rubbed his now sore leg before standing up.

"Damned demons…"

"Amelia." The Shukaku barely spoke her name and Amelia paused, she had Gaara around the waist and was carrying the unconscious red head into the mansion. "I have wasted all of my energy fighting him. I will have to hibernate for some time. You may not be alive the next time I open my eyes. Take care of Gaara will you?" The beast was starting to blur and fade, and a mix of emotions trailed through Amelia's eyes. As tears welled up in the corners, she nodded fervently.

"May peace be with you my old friend. You will forever be the keeper of my heart." Amelia whispered back, ignoring her own tears as the Shukaku smirked.

"Heh… stupid girl." The demon dissolved into sand, and it blew uselessly through her hair before settling on the ground. Amelia drew in a shaky breath before lifting Gaara up into her arms and walking inside. It had seemed like forever since she had been here. Like this place was a long, distant, far off memory that she just couldn't seem to place, but a groan from her fiancé quickly erased her nostalgia as she climbed the stairs.

She placed Gaara in his bed before tucking the covers in around him; he shivered once before curling deeper into the mattress, mumbling something to himself. Amelia crawled behind him and did her best to wrap her arms around his muscular frame. He leaned back against her; he liked being held by her. She burrowed her nose into the nape of his neck inhaling his scent. Her eyes fluttered close as she breathed.

She could rest now. Gaara was home and she was safe. For the first time in over a year Suna slept peacefully, and as Naruto glanced back at the city one last time he grinned before taking off as fast as his legs would take him. He was eager to return to Konoha.


	35. Amelia and Gaara

Me and Gaara 4ever- Yes they are back together... but will the Shukaku be gone for good? We never know!

Deathcomessoon- Nope not the last chapter yet, although I dont think this story will go very much longer but hey... we will see :)

aquamarine-acaia-Hmm interesting... usually a veela is a female but according to the legend they are so breath-takingly beautiful that whoever is supposed to be there destined one falls in love with them with little to no effort... an interesting concept I might think of writing a story about them though...

Kaulitz-Twins-Fangirls- Awww I cant kill off Kankuro there are way to many people that love the relationship between "Kitty" and Amelia.

ChojisGirl- That would be an intresting concept maybe a possible way to end the story? Ill have to think about that... thank you for the lovely review and enjoy!

Gaara-frenzy- I'll probably end the story with the Shukaku so he will most likely be back no worries... Im at least going to throw him in one more time before ths ends!

.Princess- These chapters are short because i have Economics, Civics, creative writing and short story right now... stupid homework! Anyway I appreciate the reviews and please enjoy!

heartlessrayne- I do love having a story with the Shukaku as such a central character, because most Gaara fanfictions dont even mention him and to me, even if the relationship between Gaara and the OC has nothing to do with the demon, I believe he would have a greater impact than most writers claim.

The Celestial Dragon- Oi! I wish it was just procrastination! I am getting buried in homework right now. I have Economics, civics, short story and creative writing... its killing me at the moment!

Angel of Randomosity- Hahahaha! I am so glad you enjoyed that ending, this chapter is basically one big AmeliaxGaara moment so you should be happy!

waitingangelofdeath- Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

CloudsOfRabbits- I think everyone secretly loves the fat badger... hes just kinda huggable! Im kind of a sucker for a happy ending so you dont really have to worry about a sad ending, plus Ive already got this ending figured out :) And you will be very happy with this chapter! So with that Ill shut up and let you enjoy!

AwestruckingAmy123- No problem! You should very much enjoy this chapter even more than the last!

UnForGettable323- The Shukaku will return at some point before the end of the story no worries! Thank you and enjoy!

itsmegonzo- Thank you so much! No this chapter was not the end, it will probably only be a few more chapters but not quite the end yet!

100ratsemina- Well I flipped back and forth on the Shukaku for a very long time, over whether I wanted him to be gone for good, or if I wanted him to reappear in later chapters... I have decided that he will show up again at least once, just because hes such an iconic character but it probably wont be until the final chapter. This chapter is basically one big fluff so you should happily enjoy this chapter! Many people have been begging me for a happy chapter so this one has actually been really fun to write! :) As for exams... I have Economics, Civics, Creative Writing and Short Story right now... I feel your pain.

ghettofabulous1994- Aww thank you! Im glad you have enjoyed it thus far! Please enjoy this chapter!

kaigirl16-Thank you very much and enjoy!

* * *

Warmth invaded and surrounded his senses. His body was completely relaxed, his senses were not on high alert, he was not scanning for any and all threats that could possibly befall him. He shut down, focusing solely on this sensation of warmth and the comfort that it seemed to bring his very spirit. He nuzzled his face gently into this wondrous sensation and his fingers clasped around soft flesh. Fingers gently threaded through his red locks and nails gently scraped against his scalp. He purred, it all felt so perfectly good.

Soft feather like lips brushed his neck directly under his ear and the soft vibration of some forlorn melody moved through them and into his body relaxing his muscles even more. Somewhere in the barely functioning part of his brain, he realized he had never been this relaxed ever. Not even close, it also dawned on him that he was intimately close to somebody but he just couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

For a long moment, he remained suspended in this blissful moment of peace and then like a sudden sandstorm everything came flooding back to him all at once. Accepting the Shukaku's fatal blows, awakening his eyes next to see the face of his beloved contorted in worry for his sake and then that was the last thing he remembered. Feeling the true soreness in his body as he began to awaken himself from this lovely dream, he slowly blinked his eyes open recognizing the familiar surroundings of his room, but how had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was the snow. The warmth around him shifted and his eyes drifted upwards into the impossibly gorgeous eyes of the woman to whom he was betrothed. A wide tired smile lit her face as she locked eyes with him.

"Hello my love, you have no idea how wonderful it is to see the color of your eyes." Her voice cracked as tears came unbidden to her eyes. She raised a hand to swat these annoyances away but he caught her wrist, propping himself up despite his weariness. He gently brushed her tears away and moved closer to her, until his forehead rested upon hers. His hand moved to brush her cheekbone and her eyes fluttered, it was clear that she was exhausted, probably from attempting to find him not to mention escaping from her coma.

"You are real? You are not some cruel illusion made by my subconscious?" His voice was so weak, so vulnerable, and once more tears leaked from her eyes, shedding the pain that he could not. She gently clasped his chin in her hand as her eyes fluttered open once more.

"If it is an illusion… lets enjoy it, I can't remember what you taste like." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, but the plea reached Gaara, and f this was some sick illusion let whoever created it be damned. He bruised her lips in a searing kiss. His fingers tangling in her silky black hair as he feasted from her mouth like a starving animal. He pulled away slowly gulping in large gasps of air, his aquamarine eyes seeking her own, he only waited long enough to replenish his lungs with oxygen before pinning her roughly against the headboard, pressing the front of his body to her own, trying to cement himself to her.

The sound of the doorbell pulled Gaara from his fiancé but he ignored it fiercely taking her bottom lip with his teeth instead. When it sounded a second time, he snarled and Amelia caressed the side of his face. He calmed immediately leaning into her warm hand as she stroked the rings of his eyes.

"We cannot ignore them Gaara, you have been gone for a year, Sunagakure needs its Kazekage." Gaara whimpered, how long had he imagined hearing her voice again only to come back to reality and realize he probably never would hear it, it was a miracle that she survived.

"Would you send me away so soon after returning to you?" His voice was soft and low, still groggy with sleep and so undeniably sad. Her heart broke and she pressed her lips to his once more pouring all of her love from her lips into his. It earned her a shiver and a low throaty moan. She gently pulled away seeing those intense aquamarine orbs.

"You are my Kazekage… I will always crave you." He smiled a small barely noticeable smile and pulled her to him tightly burying his nose in her hair. He inhaled her scent and the infernal doorbell rang once more. He couldn't help the snarl that escaped him as Amelia slid from his grasp and moved to stand. Gaara was at her side in an instant, a strong arm gliding around her waist, unwilling to let her go just yet. They walked down the stairs and to the front door. He glanced down at her and she smiled leaning into him slightly. He pulled the door open and both were stunned into silence at the sight before them.

Ninety percent or more of Sunagakure were spread across the streets and on every floor of the buildings surrounding the streets and as the two stepped into the sunlight, cheers so loud that Amelia thought briefly she might go deaf erupted from the crowds. Gaara took a step forward stunned at the peoples excitement they were genuinely happy to see him. Temari barreled through the crowd like a freight train and her entire face lit up as she caught sight of her brother and future sister in law.

She squealed grasping Amelia in a bone-crushing hug and spinning her around. Soft laughter moved through the crowd as they watched the future wife of there beloved Kazekage being spun around. When she was set down the crowd grew silent and one of the local shop owners stepped forth with a basket.

"We want to apologize Kazekage-sama… at some point we all have judged you unfairly and unequally, we pinned you as this unloving creature that cares only for himself, but I can see now how mistaken we have been this is the second time you have saved our beloved city from destruction and quite personally, I say even if you are a demon… let the rest of these lands be damned because I will follow you loyally until the last breath has left my lungs!" Another cheer swept through all of Suna and Gaara was stunned into silence, they had never before appreciated him, hell, half of them had wanted him dead at one point or another. Before he could break down however, Amelia joined him, wrapping an arm around his middle, giving him strength.

"Well I for one believe this is time for a celebration…" Amelia began with a smile and she looked over at her soon-to-be husband. "I'm thinking… festival what about you Kazekage-sama?" She used his formal title in front of all these people and he quickly realized he hated that coming from her lips. But he smiled none-the-less and turned back to his people.

"What do you all think?" Gaara spoke strongly and cheers swept through his people once more. "Hmm let's do something slightly unorthodox… instead of letting the elders create this festival. I leave the designing of everything to you make this festival however you see fit!" Cheers of excitement raced throughout the crowd and quickly chatter erupted. Temari took this as the perfect time to intervene. She stepped in front of her brother brought her fan down and slammed it into the ground; they paused to look at her.

"Now… lets all get going. My brother and his fiancé need some rest, they need to regather there strength if they are going to attend this festival!" Quickly they scattered like mice and the blonde turned around and winked before trotting off to find Shikamaru.

Gaara led Amelia back into the house slowly trying to quell the rush of happiness that was bubbling through him. The love of his life was safe, he had succeeded in saving his land, his people had not only come to respect him but they appreciated and genuinely like him and soon he would be married to the creature on him arm. Gaara needed to vent. As the door shut behind him, he pinned Amelia to it.

"I love you." He said simply but the smile he received seemed to be worth so much more.

"I love you too." That was all Gaara needed before his lips caught hers in a searing, heart-stopping kiss.


End file.
